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V
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Cfcn 3P.£
tmrvarfc College library
FROM THE BEQUEST OF
HENRY WARE WALES, M.D.
ClaMofi838
ro& books or nrraurr to tbb
sajtskjut DEPAMimrr
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TEANS ACTIONS
or
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY
OF JAPAN.
VOL. VIII.
d
YOKOHAMA:
Ion, Cbawvobd & Co.; Killt A Co.
Shanghai: Kbllt & Walsh.
Lohdoh: TbUbhsb ft Co.
Pabis: Ebhbst Lbbovx.
1880.
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• *** ■
s.
',-:.. T//jT. /S /^. '
//^/ ^.-. //. J">.
Y//A . *.)
B. WUMUUOWH AND CO., PWNTER8, YOKOHAMA, JAPAN.
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CONTENTS.
MOB.
Yatsu-ga-take, Haku-san and Tate-yama. By B. W. Atkinson, B. So 1
Proposed Arrangement of the Korean Alphabet. By W. G. Aston 68
Notes on Stone Implements from Otarn and Hakodate. By John Milne, F.G.8. 61
Hideyoshi and the Satsnma Clan in the Sixteenth Century. By J. H. Gubbins 92
Land Provisions of the Taih6 Bid. By 0. J. Tarring 145
On the Japanese Letters "Chi" and "Tso." By J. Edkins, D. D 156
BeplytoDr. Edkins on " Chi " and " Tsu." ByEmeetSatow 164
Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. By T. Blakiston and H. Pryer 172
The "Kana" Transliteration System. By F. V. Diekins 242
Notes on the Porcelain Industry of Japan. By B. W. Atkinson, B. So 267
A Short Memoir from the Seventeenth Century. By Basil Hall Chamberlain . . 277
Suggestions for a Japanese Rendering of the Psalms. By B. H. Chamberlain. . 285
Ancient Sepulchral Mounds in Eaudzuke. By Ernest Satow 318
The History of Japanese Costume. By Josiah Conder, M. B. I. B. A 888
Contributions to the Agricultural Chemistry of Japan. By Edward Kinch, Pro-
fessor of Chemistry 869
On the Systematic Position of the Itachi. By Professor D. Brauns 416
The Seven Gods of Happiness. By C. Puini, translated by F. V. Diekins. ... 427
Manufacture of Sugar in Japan. By K. Ota 462
Influence of Chinese Dialects on the Japanese Pronunciation of the Chinese^
Part of the Japanese Language. By J. Edkins, D. D 478
Minutes of Meetings i-xvi
Report of Council x vii
List of Members xxii
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ni u *j § i wi
YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
NOTES OF A SUMMER TRIP.
By R. W. Atkinson, B. Sc. (Lond.)
[Read October U, 1879.]
I have selected the three mountains above named as a heading for
this paper, because they stand out prominently in my recollection from
the other districts visited, and because they may also serve to mark the
divisions of the journey I took during the past summer (1879) into
Shinshiu, Hida, and Etchiu, in company with my friends Prof. Dixon
and Mr. Nakazawa. We proposed to pass directly from Musashi into
Shinshiu by following the direction of greatest length of the former ,
province, and then, having crossed over the range Yatsu-ga-take, to
make for the southern point of Hida, and, traversing the western boun-
dary, to ascend Haku-san, a sacred mountain situated at the point
where the three provinces, — Eaga, Hida, and Echizen, — meet. De-
scending on the same side, we intended' to cross eastwards to the largest
branch of the Jindzu-gawa, and to sail down to Toyama, in Etchiu,
from which we could ascend Tate-yama, and cross over the Harinoki
tdge into Shinshiu by the Shindo.
This programme was 'carried out with one exception. For reasons
to be given hereafter we descended Haku-san, not on the Hida, but on
the Eaga aide, which compelled us to abandon the sail down the
. Jindzu-gawa, a circumstance we verjr much regretted, as glowing ac-
counts had reached us of the beauty of the scenery.
VOL. VIII. 1
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2 ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
As a contribution to the geography of some little known parts of
this island, I have ventured to put into shape some notes taken during
the trip, and have appended a sketch map of the route, as well as tables
giving the approximate heights of places through which we passed, and
the names of some of the more striking flowers which were in bloom at
the time.
With regard to the heights given in the tables, a few words are
necessary to explain how far they are to be relied upon. All of them
were determined by means of an anerbid barometer, by Negretti and
Zambra, kindly lent to me by Mr. Satow, and graduated from 81 to 21
inches. In every case I noted the reading in inches as well as the
time, and whenever we remained an hour or more in one place I took the
reading at the end as well as at the beginning of our stay. At night I
usually took two readings, one immediately on entering the tea-house,
and another later in the evening, about 8 or 9 o'clock ; whilst in the
morning I took only one, except occasionally.
Professor Mendenhall has been so good as to compare the aneroid
with the standard mercurial barometer of the Eaga Yashiki observatory,
and has furnished me with comparison curves of the two instruments
from observations taken during a fortnight, Aug. 19th to Sept. 2nd,
from which it appears that the aneroid had been only partially compen-
sated for temperature. The small difference between the readings .fpf
the aneroid and the mercurial barometer, when the latter had been cor*
.rected for temperature, has been corrected in the numbers given in the
tables, and they, therefore, represent the actual height of the mercury,
corrected for temperature, at any given time. I am also indebted to
Prof. Mendenhall for the barometric readings in T6kiy6 during the whole
of the period of our trip, and this has enabled me to calculate the approxi-
mate height corresponding to the readings observed. At the same time
many circumstances may interfere to render the heights incorrect to some
extent ; indeed it is scarcely probable that the average error is less than
100 ft., and it has, therefore, seemed unnecessary to give the exact
numbers obtained by calculation, and in place of them I have chosen the
nearest ten to the number found. Thus, supposing the calculated height
of any place to be 2437 ft., I have given xthe number 2440 ft., although
even in that number the height is given with more apparent accuracy
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ATKINSON: TATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA. 8
that the method warrants, for, as only one reading was taken in the
majority of cases, a local disturbance would tend to raise or lower the
apparent height by as much as 50 or 100 feet. In order to get a
smaller error it would have been necessary to institute a series of obser-
vations extending oyer a week or a fortnight, and to compare them with
readings taken at similar times at the sea-level, or some other place, the
exact height of which was knowD. In this way Mr. Knipping as-
certained the height of Fuji-san, and found a number closely agreeing
with the one found by Mr. Stewart from trigonometrical measurements.
I have to thank Mr. Matsumura, of the Tokiyo Daigaku, for assistance
in the determination of many of the plants obtained during the trip. It
would probably lead to the discovery of many new species, were those
who wander into parts of Japan not much known, to carry with them a
collecting portfolio, and to preserve the dried plants till their return to
Tokiyo, where the flowers could be examined. In collecting, I employed
two portfolios, one for .pressing, and another for storing. Each con-
sisted of two flat, strong, boards, about 18 by 11 inches, holding a
number of sheets of a thick, grey; bibulous paper,, and fastened round
with a pair of ordinary rug straps. As soon as my collecting book was
full, the plants then collected and already partially dried, were trans-
ferred to the storing portfolio, in which they remained until I reached
Tokiyo. Some had become a little mouldy, but the mould was easily
removed by painting the plants over with a solution of carbolic acid or
salicylic acid, and again subjecting them to pressure in fresh paper. In
this way most of those which were not very succulent had preserved
their form and colour very well.
Before starting we had many discussions as to the best form of
foot-gear to adopt. Opinions on this point were very conflicting, and
after having tried various kinds during this excursion, I can understand
why it should be so. Different observers will be apt to lay stress upon
different points, and of the three kinds of walking apparel I have tried,
each has advantages over the others under special circumstances. The
principal objection to the use of our ordinary boots is, that there is not
sufficient friction between the soles and the road- way. Along level or
slightly sloping ground, this is not felt, and the " spring " there is in
the sole assists the power of walking very materially, whilst walking in
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4 ATKINSON! YATSUGA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
waraji becomes extremely fatiguing under such circumstances. But, if
the road becomes greatly inclined, and perhaps stony, as in ascending
the greater number of passes in Japan, waraji have the advantage over
boots on account of the greater friction between them and the roads.
They are, however, no protection to the feet; there being no " spring "*
in them the foot falls "dead" upon the ground. The ball of the foot
thus . gets many, unpleasant shocks, and a tendency for the tendons of
the foot to contract shows itself, and this makes walking very painful.
But it is in going down hill over a stony road that waraji show themselves
to least advantage. In this case the fault just referred to is exaggerated,
and the feet become so sensitive to the smallest pebble, that it is agony
to proceed. After trying waraji in conjunction with tabi a few times,
over this kind of ground, I abandoned the tabi, anc^ fastened the waraji
on the outside of my boots, an arrangement which gave all the
advantages of both. The waraji can be very quickly made by a skilful
workman, although it is better to have a supply made before starting,
having a kind of cap formed of three or four cross strings proceeding
from the centre and two sides of the toe end. These strings then pass
backward, through the side loops, and are fastened in the usual way.
This I consider to be the best arrangement for ordinary walking, if care
be taken to see that the fit is perfect. If they do not fit well they are
apt to slip to one side and give endless trouble.
* But in ascending such mountains as Haku-san, where the ascent
has to be made up the bed of a stream, or where one has to climb along
the face of a rock with scarcely anything to rest upon, or in crossing
over a talus of loose earth, it is necessary to wear waraji with tabi and
without boots. The greater flexibility permitted to the foot enables one
to hold on to ground from which boots would certainly slip away, in
addition to which they allow one to walk in the water, or to wade from
one side to the other* of a stream without the necessity of wasting time
by taking off and putting on boots. Climbing Haku-san and Tate-yama
in this way, I found comparatively easy ; the greatest difficulty was in
descending, for the reason that the straw string which passes between
the toes gets pressed against the skin, and seems as though it would
cut right through. But, as boots are quite out of the question, nothing
remains but to get used to the feeling.
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atkinson: yatsu-ga-take, haku-sak, and tate-yama. 5
I. -YATSU-GA-TAKE.
Early on the morning of the 16th of July we left Tokiyo by kuruma,
intending to .reach Kawagoye the* same evening. We rode along the
Nakasend6 as far as the new police station at Itabashi, which stands at
the meeting of -two roads, the Nakasendd and the Kawagoye-kaid6.
Here, of course, we took the left road, which was much narrower than
the other, and resembled an English lane bordered on either side with
trees. As far as Akatsuka-mura, four ri from Nihombashi. this kind
of road continued, after which for four ri more to Oi, the road was lined
with cryptomerias. At this place we heard of a shorter road which
would permit us to get several ri further on our way without passing
through Kawagoye, ^ind after lunch we started for Kurosu, 3$ ri distant.
We found the road very narrow, in many places little wider than an
ordinary foot-path, and running for the greater part of the way through
plantations of nara, matsu, etc. Acacia treed and seedlings seemed
abundant, and in one place in the plantation I found a group of "Dutch
pipes," Japanese Oranda kiseru (Aeginetia indica), growing almost
hidden from sight. About half a ri before reaching Kurosu the road
through the plantations . opened out into fields planted with indigo,
sato-imo, satsuma-imo, beans, etc., and we obtained a good view of the
valley which lay between us, and the hilly country beyond. Hitherto*
we had been traversing an elevated plateau, but a few cho from Kurosu
the road very sharply descended to the village, which is situated on a
bank of the Iruma-gawa. Kurosu is a small village, but appears cleaner
and better kept than others through which we had passed. The next
morning we started at 5.25, and a walk of about 10 cho brought us to
the wide gravelly bed of the river, the water of which flowed in a
beautifully limpid stream through a narrower channel, sufficiently wide,
however, to require a boat to take us across. On the other side a
narrow path along the bank of the river brought us to a small village,
Sasai, where we diverged to the right along the road to Hanno. For
nearly the whole distance, two ri, we passed through somewhat gloomy
plantations, which opened out near Hannd into fields. The whole of
this part of the road seemed singularly wanting in plant-life, a circum-
stance which, perhaps, gave the gloom to it. HannO is a small, respect-
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6 ATKINSON : YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
•
able looking village, but appears to be little visited, inasmuch as we
searched in vain for a tea-house. About 10 cho beyond the village the
road winds about among a series of small hills, and now rice- fields
begin to appear from the greater abundance of water than in the plain
over which we had come. Here two road separate : the winding road to
the left is the one to Agano or Saka-ishi machi, and after following this
for half a ri over the hills, we entered the valley of the Komagawa, flowing
E. by S. This valley resembled, with its su#i-clad sides, many another
valley in Japan, and presented many beautiful glimpses of wood and
water. Flowers also were, abundant, especially the lilies Funkia ovata,
and Lilium aurantium, the latter of which was even oppressive with its
fragrance. After enteririg this valley we had to cross the river ten
times before we reached Saka-ishi- machi, three times by wading, six times
over narrow planks stretched across, and finally, just before entering
the town, over a well-built bridge. The old name of this place was
Agano, but had been recently changed to Saka-ishi-machi. Here we
learnt that horses could not go over the pass which lay between this and
Omiya, our resting place for the night, but that the baggage must be
carried by oxen. After lunching, we again started and followed the
road running along the banks of the Komagawa. About 2 H from
Agano we came to Saka-ishi-mura, from which the ascent of the
• Shdmaru toge may be said to commence. From this point the valley is
very close and winding, well timbered, and supplying various kinds of
wood'. As we near the top of the pass,fc very fine views are obtained of
the hills we entered in the morning and of the plain over which we
passed between Tokiyo and Kurosu. The highest point of the pass is
about 1940 ft. above the sea. The descent on the other side was rather
steep ; the sides of the path were luxuriantly supplied with flowers, the
Deinanthe bifida, with a flower like a fully developed Hydrangea, being
especially noticeable, and in no other part of the country did I find it. At
the foot of the descent we entered the valley of the Obukdkawa, following
which we ultimately arrived at Omiya. Before getting there, however,
darkness overtook us, and as the road was very narrow, and in one or
two places was reduced to a mere plank crossing the river, our progress
was not very rapid. The brilliancy of the fire- flies was remarkable ; on
several occasions, indeed, it was almost impossible to resist the belief that
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ATKINSON*. YATSU'GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA. 7
the light proceeded from a cottage door. At another part of the road
we saw in the distance a peculiar, unnatural glare upon the dark sw/i
lining the hanks, caused by the torches carried by villagers fishing in
the bed of the stream. At Omiya we were unable to find room in any
except a second class hotel, the town appearing to be very full. Our
baggage, which started from Saka-ishi-machi at 2 p. m., did not reach
Omiya until 8. a.m., having taken 18 hours for 7 ri.
Omiya is a small town consisting of a principal street running S. S.
W., and one or two at right angles. It is the centre of a silk district, and
is on that account visited by Italians in search of cards. There are a
few shops in which foreign goods, including wines and beer, are for sale.
Looking down the main street, several hills are visible not very far away,
Bukozan, Urayama, Hashitate, and others. Immediately after leaving
Omiya we entered the valley of the Arakawa, the upper part of the river
which runs through Tdkiyd under the name of the Todagawa, or Sumida-
gawa. Here it was flowing almost directly east. For about 1} ri the
road was quite level, running some distance from the right bank of the river
through fields planted with beans, mulberry trees, etc.; but as we as-
cended the valley the road rose and continued along a terrace high above
the river as far as where it has to be crossed to reach Niyekawa. From
many points of this terrace, looking backwards, we had magnificent
views of the valley, and one of our party who had been in Yamato said
that it resembled the famous Yoshino, except that high mountains
replaced the lower Yoshino-yama. Suddenly, when we came in sight
of the white walls of the • Niyekawa houses, the road descended very
rapidly to the river, which we crossed in a Jy>at with the help of a rope
stretched from bank to bank, and then ascended as rapidly to Niyekawa-,
which is very beautifully situated, commanding a fine view of the valley.
In the principal hotel, Isoda-ya, one of the rooms projects from the main
part of the building, and here one can enjoy the beauty of the scenery,
while the attention bestowed upon travellers is all that can be desired.
We were 'shown a map of the district jChichibu), a copy of which from
Omiya to the Jumonji tdge, showing the branching of the road at
Ghichibu no Ochiai, is appended. After a good night's rest we started
early, keeping to the left bank of the river, along the road which,
having to cross the low spurs thrown out by the hills, rose and fell
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8 ATKINSON : YATSU-GA-TAKE, IIAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
frequently. The river winds in and out in a very picturesque way, and
into the main gorge, which is very narrow, many smaller ones enter.
Hills on either side, luxuriantly wooded to the top, rise to nearly a
thousand feet. At this point the valley runs N. N. E., but a little way
beyond it bends a second time nearly at right angles. ' Beyond the bend
the character of the valley is bolder and the scenery more magnificent
than anything I had hitherto seen in this country, and indeed will bear
comparison with some parts of the famous Yosemite* valley. At the
point where the third bend occurs, a sharp, bold rock stands out like a
sentinel, and, though on a smaller scale, recalls £1 Capitan in the
Yosemite* valley. On the opposite bank of the river another valley enters.
The highest part of the road before reaching Ochiai is where the path
crosses the rock alluded to above, and at this elevation there are a few
houses which bear the name of Oda-hara mura. In one or two of the
houses were exposed for sale the antlers of the deer, and the smaller
horns of the sheep-faced antelope, called the Kamoshika or Kurashishi.
Beyond this point we turned to the right and descended into a more open
valley, more cultivated, and much less picturesque. The descent was
pretty rapid as far as the river, where there are a few houses, and a
bridge leading to the opposite side, which, however, we did not cross,
but continued to follow the path on the left bank of the stream as for as
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ATKINSON : YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA. 9
Ochiai, a part of Otaki, 8 ri distant from Niyekawa. The name Ochiai
is given to the place where two rivers meet, and as the same name is
given to a village on the opposite side of the pass, this one is distin-
guished by the name Chichibu no Ochiai (Chichibu being the name of
the district), while the other is called Shinshiu no Ochiai. A short
distance above this village we came to a tributary of the Arakawa, about
the same size, called Nakatsu-gawa. The road crosses this stream1
and follows its right bank for a short distance before separating from
the right and broader road, which keeps to the level of the river and
is called " Shi-ju-hasse " (forty-eight shallow reaches), and, running
up the valley Shin Otaki, finally passes over the Mikuni tdge into
Shinshiu. The left branch of the road, which we took, rises pretty
sharply to the top of the ridge, from which many very pretty views of
the Shin Otaki valley, with its charming Swiss-looking cottages, are
obtained. At the top of the ridge the path crosses from the Shin Otaki
valley into the "valley of the Arakawa again, here called the Ko Otaki
valley, which we ascended to Tochimoto, whence the ascent of tne
Jumonji t6ge is made. The road in this valley is little more than a
narrow ledge, running at varying elevations above the river, never less
than 400 ft., but rising to 500 and 600 ft. It winds in and out of all the
smaller side valleys, and is remarkably pretty all the way to Tochimoto.
About a ri or a. ri and a half from Ochiai we passed through a small
village of about half a dozen houses called Okubo. From this 1£ ri more
brought us to Tochimoto, where we rested in the house of Mr. Omura,
the principal farmer. During the whole of the last two days the
luxuriance of plant life had been extraordinary, especially of the large
Japanese lily, which here attains a size not seen elsewhere. On one
plant I counted no less than 15 flowers on one stem.
Although we had reached Tochimoto quite early in the day, we
'were obliged to rest in order to commence the journey over the Jumonji
toge early the next morning. We received somewhat alarming accounts
of the difficulty of the pass, which fortunately proved to be exaggerated,
but it is quite a common habit of country people to overestimate the
1In many maps, even in the one lately published by the Geographical bureau,
the road to the Mikuni tdge is represented as leaving the other road before the
Nakatsugawa is crossed.
TOL. Till. • 2
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10 ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAXC-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
difficulties to intending travellers. Shortly after leaving the village, a
smaller road branched off on the left, which would lead into Koshiu.
The right path led by a steep and continuous ascent to a small shrine
erected to twelve Buddhist deities, and called Ju-ni ten. This point is
about 650 feet above Tochimoto. After a slight descent the path again
ascended through quantities of bamboo and sword grass, wet with dew,
by which in a very short time we were thoroughly soaked. After a
steady climb of two hours from starting we arrived at a small shrine, said
to be 1 ri 80 cho from Tochimoto, a rate of not more than 2-3 miles per
hour. The road all the way was so narrow that neither horses nor oxen .
could have carried our luggage, so that we. had to engage coolies to do so.
A short distance from the shrine down the side of the slope there was
a little water, which we were glad to drink, as we learnt that for the
next 2J ri we should come across none.
Beyond the shrine the road .was tolerably level for a short distance,
and seemed to lie along a long ridge separating the two valleys of Otaki,
for we soon came to a pathway on the right, which came from Nakatsu-
gawa. After a short descent the road again ascended to another flat
ridge, and then rose again to the second highest point of the road, 5,100
feet above the sea, and 2,900 feet above Tochimoto. Just before
reaching this point we caught a glimpse of Yatsu-ga-take W. N. W., and
Asama-yama, 20° W* of N. Afterwards the road descended and emerged
from under the trees, which hitherto had protected us from the burning
sun, to a wide space where all the vegetation had been destroyed
by fire, and from which we obtained a good view of the valley. The
path was exceedingly narrow and ran along the face of a very steep
slope, which descended below us for several thousand feet, and which
recalled the rounding of Cape Horn on the Pacific Railroad. The
Ghichibu, Kdshiu, and Shinshiu ranges were all prominent,, and gave
the impression of great height. The gold hill of Matano-sawa was also
pointed out to us. It is not yet worked on the large scale, but speci-
mens of the ore were exhibited at the National Exhibition held at Uyeno,
in 1877.
A little beyond this point the road had to pass round a group
of very remarkable) rugged erags, and it then made a continuous
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAXE, HAKU-BAN, AMD TATR-YAMA. 11
descent amongst trees till we reached a little glen where we found
water, and here we lunched. This point is a little more than half way
between Tochimoto and Shinshiu no Ochiai, being 8} ri from the former
place, but nevertheless it had taken us 5 J hours pretty steady, though
not fast, walking. Near this spot I found the only specimen of Anemo-
nopsis macrophylla obtained .during the whole of the trip. The great
abundance of plants on this pass was very striking, including the
Cornus canadensis, two species of Thalictrum, Aquilegia glandulosa,
Schrophularia alata, amongst the more noticeable, and the Monotropa
uniflora, a beautiful, transparent little plant with a drooping head, which
I have found on Nantaizan and on the Konsei t6ge, where it was called
yuki-furi-sS (snow fall grass).
After resting some time we again started commencing to climb
immediately along the face of the side of the valley until we reached
what must have been the upper end of the Eo Otaki valley, for the
road now ran across a narrow ridge almost at right angles to its former
direction, from which the two valleys, Shin Otaki and Eo Otaki, were
seen to the right and left respectively. Having crossed this ridge, we
had now come to the strip which separated the valley of the Nakatsugawa
from that of the Chikumagawa, and for some distance the path led us
along the Nakatsugawa side, and then after a long steep ascent we came
to the highest point of the dividing ridge, a short distance on this side
of the post marking the boundary line between the two provinces of
Musashi and Shinshiu, or of the Saitama and Nagano prefectures.
The Jumonji tdge is the middle one of three, the other two being
the Mikuni t6ge, between Shinshiu, Musashi, and Eddzuke, and the
Eobushi tdge, which is at the point of meeting of Edshiu, Musashi, and
Shinshiu, and derives its name from the initial characters in the names
of the three provinces, Ed-bu-shi. The Kdbashi-ga-take appeared to
be of considerable height, probably between 7,000 and 8,000 feet. The
highest point of the Jumonji tdge is about 6,000 feet above sea-level.
Here our guide, who had observed that we were collecting plants,
made a sudden dive into the recesses of the forest, and after a • short
time returned triumphantly with a specimen, called Oren, which is used
as a drug, and the root of which has a very bitter taste. It is a species
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12 ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAXE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAUA.
of Coptis, probably brachypetala, and contains an alkaloid, the. exact
nature of which is uncertain. The root is said to be used as a vermifuge.
After passing the highest point, the path descended gradually for
some distance through the same kind of scenery — a pine forest. After-
wards we descended very rapidly, the road at the lower path becoming
stony and hard. From one point we saw £dbushi-ga-take in a direction
about 17° W. of S., after which we rapidly descended to the level of the
Chikuma-gawa, which we first touched 1£ hours after leaving the summit,
having descended nearly 1500 feet. We still continued to descend,
keeping close to the river for 15 minutes more,, till we came to a rude
kind of bridge crossing the stream and also a small branch on the left
bank, leading at once to the Kara, which ran with a very gentle
inclination as far as Ochiai. The valley ran directly east and west, and
closing the western end, as it were, we saw the lofty and gloomy Yatsu-
ga-take. The hills on either side of the valley were green, grassy slopes,
very pleasant to look at, suggesting home scenes, but wanting the white
cattle dotted here and there over them. The hara, hitherto uncultivated,
is now being cut up into fields for the cultivation of buckwheat. It is
a matter for wonder that the utilization of such a fertile spot should
have been delayed, as the general opinion is that every available spot in
the country is made use of. That it is a very fertile plain is rendered
evident by the vast quantities of wild flowers growing on it — the
luxuriance of plant life being as striking as on the pass, though it would
be evident to the most casual observer that the characters of the two
floras are very different, the one being an alpine, the other a valley '
flora. Most prominent were Epilobium spicatum, Platycodon grandi-
florum, Funkia ovata, Dianthus superbus, Phyteuma japonicum, Vero-
nica virginica, Geranium sibiricum, Hemerocallis various species, and
numbers of Orchidacese. At the point where the road leaves the hara,
and descends rapidly a few feet to the village of Ochiai, a most charming
view of the valley in front is obtained, as agreeable as the sight of the
promised land to 'the Jews of old. A little below the village the
Chikuma-gawa is joined by the Adzusa-gawa, and the united waters flow
through Shinshiu until they meet with the Sai-gawa, after which they
flow as the Shinano-gawa, through Shinshiu and Echigo,.and enter the
sea at Niigata.
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ATKINSON: TATSUGA-TAJLE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA. 18
We stayed all night in the house of Mr. Tddd, a fanner, there being
neither yado-ya nor cha-ya in the village, as it is a road not often
traversed by travellers. After making enquiries about Yatsu-ga-take we
were told that Gongen-no-take was the highest peak and that it could be
ascended from Umi-no-kuchi, and we therefore started early on the
following morning, July 21st, for that place. Descending the valley, we
passed through two small villages, Igura and Hara, and after about
4£ ri we came to a point where the valley appeared to be blocked by a
range of low hills. The river, however, here joined* by another stream,
flowed round the north side of the hills, between them and the opposite
aide of the valley. The road ascended the hill, and then we found it to
consist of an elevated plateau stretching for about a rt, and over-
looking, the valley in which Umi-no-kuchi lies. This village lies on
one of the main roads between Shinano and K6shiu. The Chikuma*
gawa, after bending round the above mentioned plateau, emerges
again a little way after the road leaves Umi-no-kuchi for Umijiri.
In the former place we found the most complete ignorance prevail-
ing concerning the roads or even the possibility of ascending the
mountain, which could be well seen from part of the village. At
last the oldest inhabitant of the village, on being applied to, said that
it could be ascended from Umijiri, where a guide could be obtained.
The accompanying sketch gives the outline of the range as seen
from Umi-no-kuchi, where, however, the name Kasa-dake was given to
the highest peak, which at the time was enveloped in mist. After lunch
we started, crossing the river a little way from the village, and following
the road, a very good, broad and level one, along the left bank, through
a very pleasant valley to Umijiri, 1 ri 12 ckd distant. This is a
remarkable little place, differing in appearance from the majority of *
Japanese villages, for the gable ends of the houses face the main street,
and thus form a series of little streets branching off at right angles. At
the head of the slight inclination which the town has is the K'uwaisha,
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14 ATKINSON'. YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA.
and that travellers can be accommodated is announced by a large board
banging at the entrance with the inscription " Hotel " on one side, and
" Hostel " on the reverse. A tradition appears to exist that mosquitoes
are unknown, and as a consequence nets are not forthcoming. But as
in fact these little pests abound, during the night we suffered untold
misery, a bad preparation for the climb we had before us on the
morrow. We found that the highest peak was called Aka-dake, and was
the same which was called Kasa-dake at Umi-no-kuchi. To ascend this it
was necessary to go first to the summit of Mikaburi-yama, then to cross the
ridge between that and the highest point — in fact to follow the outline of
the sketch. We were provided with a guide who promised to conduct
us from the summit of Aka-dake to Kami-no-hara, on the Suwa side of
the range, which, however, would require us to camp out one. night.
Having divided our baggage, and sent the heavier portion to Kami-no-
hara by the new road open to horses, we started early the next morning
for the first stage, to Honzawa, where there are sulphur springs.
Immediately on leaving the village, before crossing the bridge, the path
diverged to the left from the main road. We ascended rapidly to the top
of the slope, after which the rise became more gradual. At this point
Asama was well seen due north, and Mikaburi-yama W. S. W. Rising
continuously over a grassy plain, with many wild flowers, we passed
two clumps of trees, which offered the only shelter from the sun, which
even at this early hour was burning. Near the second group we found
Trollius japonicus in full bloom, as well as the less conspicuous
Metanarthecium luteo-viride. Having risen thus far along the face of
one of the grassy spurs from the Yatsu-ga-take range, we now crossed
over and ascended the opposite face, the one nearer to Mikaburi-yama.
From this point we entered the pine region, and until we reached the
summit of the pass, we were never out of it except for short intervals
here and there. The road, however, still kept rising, with a single short
descent to the stream just below the baths, until we reached Honzawa,
which we did three hours and a half after starting. The baths are
• about 8,200 feet above Umijiri. In the wood we found many specimens
of the beautiful little Pyrola rotundifolia, the flower of which always
suggests the lily of the valley. Round the baths the rhododendrons were
in bloom, besides which we found many other kinds of alpine plants. •
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TARE, HAKtNSAN, AND TATE -YAH A. 15
• Honzawa consists of a single house of two stories, roughly
built, and partitioned off into rooms for the accommodation of
visitors, of whom, however, there are very few. There is only one
bath, situated about 1 cho above the house, and at the side several
streams of cold water, charged with iron and sulphuric acid,
rush past. The bath consists of a wooden tank, into which the
hot sulphur water is admitted by a pipe. The source of the water
is covered, so that we could not penetrate further in our investigation.
The water smells of sulphuretted hydrogen, though not so strongly as
the water of Eusatsu or of Yumoto (Nikkd). The temperature was
92-5° F. as it entered the tank, though whether it mixes with cold water
before entering I coald not ascertain. There appears, therefore, to be
only one spring. Something having delayed our guide, it was a quarter
to eleven before we were ready for a start. We then followed a toler-
ably wide, zig-zag path through a dense forest of pines for forty minutes,
when we reached the summit of the pass between Umijiri and Kami-no-
hara, on the Suwa side. No name having been given to this pass, I
have called it the Mikaburi tdge throughout the paper, from the relation
it bears to the mountain of that name. The height of the pass is about
1000 feet above Honzawa, and 7,400 ft. above the sea- level. We now
turned sharply backwards to the left and entered a very dense, tangled
growth of wood, through which we passed with great difficulty. The
pines threw out their branches only a few feet above the ground, and
we had either to creep underneath, or to climb over the obstruction. By
and by we emerged from the wood and found ourselves at the base of
the free part of the mountain. When seen from the baths, Mikaburi-
yama presents the appearance of a volcanic cone which has been cut in
two by some means and discloses its interior. There was no evidence
of inclined strata, but it appeared to be built up of horizontal layers of
a rock resembling basalt. The general colour of the broken part was red,
but near the top a mass of a much darker brown colour was visible.
After leaving the pine wood our way lay up the side of the moun-
tain, covered with a very low-growing kind of pine, called ne-matsu,
which seemed to extend over the whole of that part, intermixed with a
dwarfed rhododendron, at this time in flower. As the branches-
of this pine crept above the ground at a height of 6 inches to a foot, it
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16 ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAHA.
was very tedious and difficult to avoid getting entangled. Near the top
of the mountain it disappeared, and the last part of the ascent was by
the side of the broken edge, which is seen from the baths, up stony
ground to the top, which we reached in 1£ hours after leaving Honzawa,
and 1050 feet above Mikaburi-t6ge. It is therefore 8,450 feet above the
level of the sea.
From the summit we saw what appeared to be the other side, or
part of the other side cut away, thus leaving only a ridge and the
summit of the original mountain. The diagram Fig. 3 is a representa- <
tion of the relation of the different points of this part of the range as
they appeared from the summit and further along the ridge. In all the
native maps I have examined, the relative positions of the peaks with
the same name are different from those observed, but whether that is the
fault of the map-maker, pr whether the names of the peaks given to us
by our guide were incorrect, is a point I am unable to decide. We then
descended on the opposite side of the summit for a short distance to a
hollow where we could be screened from the wind, marked X in the
diagram, and after lunching we continued along the ridge in the
direction of Aka-dake. From a point a little way along the ridge Fuji-
san was seen in a direction about 15° E. of S., and the extreme end of
Suwa lake 70° W. of N. Beyond this point the ridge became very nar-
row, at one point not more than two feet wide, whilst the sides sloped
very rapidly down almost to the bottom of the valley, certainly for two*
or three thousand feet. At other places our progress was interrupted
by gaps in the ridge, which necessitated a return to a point from which
we could pass below by holding on to projecting rocks, or the stunted
shrubs which were able to grow. At another of the more dangerous
points the whole of the narrow path was covered with the creeping pine
found on the lower part of Mikaburi-yama, and this I think was the
worst piece of climbing we had, for as the branches hung over the edge
of the rock, one could never be quite certain of stepping upon, and not
over, the ridge. This part, I confess, I got over on hands and feet
in fear and trembling, sincerely glad that we did not intend returning
the •same way, little thinking that circumstances would compel us to do
so. That point passed, we came to the highest point of the ridge,
• which is called Jizd-san, and is about 280 ft. higher than the
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKK, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA. 17
sammit of Mikabari-yama, or about 8,680 ft. above the sea. For about
fifteen minutes more we managed to progress in the direction ot
Aka-dake, but here the guide,* after going a little in advance to examine
the way, reported a great chasm ahead, which it would be quite impos-
sible to cross, and which had been formed since the last time he ascended,
three years ago. Although within 10 cho of the Aka-dake, which ap-
peared towering high above us and running up to a very sharp peak,
for apparently 500 or 600 ft. we were compelled to return. The
difficulties in returning were even greater than before, for it had now
begun to rain heavily, and to add to our troubles a very strong' breeze
had sprung up. Below us a thunder-storm was raging, which by and
bye passed above us, and deafened us with one of the most violent peals
of thunder I have ever heard or wish to hear. It seemed as though all
the thin pointed rocks must fall and involve us in a common ruin.
We succeeded in retracing our steps without accident, but on
emerging to the broader part of the ridge immediately below Mikaburi-
yama, we missed our way, and descended some distance down on the
Chikuma-gawa side. The mist, clearing a little, showed us the right
direction, and after a stiff climb we found ourselves once more on the
summit of Mikaburi-yama, after which we had thought all our troubles
would have been over. But from this point, again, in descending we
took the wrong road, and it was only when .recourse was had to the
compass* and after reaBcending to the summit, that we got the right
direction. Our guide seemed to have lost all confidence in himself, and
VOL. VIII. ' 3
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IS ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAXU-8AN, AND TATE-TAMA.
from this point Mr. Nakazawa took the lead, and with the help of the
magnet succeeded in bringing us back to the baths. We had taken
three hours to descend from the summit of Mikaburi-yama through
a drenching and severely cold rain, whereas the ascent occupied 15
minutes less than half that time.
Growing on the sides and summit of the mountain I observed
dwarfed specimens of Dicentra pusilla, many kinds of ericaceous plants,
and species of Aconitum and Anemone, but as I could not preserve
specimens, I cannot be sure of the species.
The next morning we ascended the toge once more, but continued
this time along the newly formed road which is cut along the ridge
through the pine forest. The soil was very soft and " springy," but the
rough cut edges of the trees made walking very difficult. For some
distance, until the wood was passed the descent was gradual, but
beyond the wood-cutter's hut, as far as the first crossing of the stream,
the road descended steeply. From this it ascended and descended till
we reached the hara, beyond which the descent was continuous and
gradual. We passed through one or two villages before reaching Kami-
no-hara, which is said to be 6 ri from Honzawa, but is probably more.
From Kami-no-hara the range of Yatsu-ga-take could be seen distinctly,
and probably' could be best ascended from that point; but, as the
intervening slope is -very long, two days would be required. It is not
very easy to find out the correct names of the prominent peaks of the
range. Sometimes the same name is applied to two peaks, as, for
example, Gongen-no-take, and at others the same peak has two or more
names, as in the case of Aka-dake, which at Umijiri is called Kasa-dake.
The order in which they are seen from Kami-no-hara, proceeding from
the north, is as follows : Tate-ahima-yama, Mikaburi-yama, Ydko-dake,
Aka-dake, and Amida-ga-take, all in Shinshiu, except the last, which we
were told bordered on K6shiu. Ydko-dake is probably another name for
Jizd-san, the highest point of the ridge between Mikaburi and Aka-dake.
This is a confirmation of the account given by our guide, and being
from the opposite side of the range is of considerable weight.
From Kami-no-hara our road lay towards Fukushima on the
Nakasendo, from which we intended to enter Hida. We crossed the
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ATKINSON: YATBU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA. 19
valley passing through Chino, a small town on the Kdshiu-kaidd, which
lies .on the river of the same name. This is one of the rivers running
into lake Suwa, and after about twenty minute's walk we crossed a
second river running into the lake. From this point the road ascended
gradually through Miyagawa, in which we saw many silk- winding
establishments, then through the village of Jinguji, in which there is a
large temple called Suwa no jinja. After passing through the gate and
along a long covered way, lined with many poems written on wood, a
torn to the left led into a square courtyard, at one side of which was a
large ornamental gate, adorned with gohei, and with a fine group of
trees behind. This was the entrance proper to the temple, which was
situated some distance up the mountain. Opposite the gate was a kind
of shed, in which two large pictures, painted on wood, hung. One of
these was remarkable for the enormous number of cranes represented in
it, numbering over a thousand. It was 12 feet long and about 6 feet
high, and was said to have been painted by Kanko, during the
chronological period Kayei, 1848-54. The temple is said to be very old,
though its age is unknown, and it underwent repairs during the period
Tempo (1830-1844).
Beyond this village the road continued along the side of the low
hills west of Suwa, with a view Of the lake and of Yatsu-ga-take behind.
Beyond Aruga the road ascended rapidly to the top of the low grassy
hills, the highest point being about 850 feet above the lowest point of
the valley, which was crossed at the second river, and was, therefore, a
very little higher than the level of the lake. From the highest point we
descended between grass-covered hills of the same kind into the valley
of the Tenriu-gawa to Hiraide, on the Ina-kaidd leading to Takatd,
one hour and 45 minutes after leaving the summit. From this point a
fine view of Koma-ga-take in ShinBhiu is obtained. Between Hiraide
and Inabe, a town lower down the valley, the road is quite level and
practicable for kuruma. The distance is said to be 4 ri, but is
probably more than that, as our kuruma took three hours, going
pretty fast most of the Way. About half way between the two places
we passed through Matsushima, which seems to be mainly filled with
tea-houses. The ride down the valley was very delightful, as it is
pretty open in the direction of its length, and at the same time we
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20 ATKINSON! YATSU-GA-TAK£, HAXU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA.
got magnificent views of the two ranges of high mountains on either side,
of the K6shiu range including Koma-ga-take and Jizd-dake,' and of .the
south Shinshiu range, with the other Koma-ga-take and Kazegoshi-yama.
Inabe is situated at the base of Shinshiu no Koma-ga-take towards the
north, and the road to Fukushima crosses the range at the lowest
point, directly to the north of this mountain.
After a good night's rest at the hotel of Toyo Seibei, we started
early in the morning of the 25th July, and retracing our direction of
the day before for a short distance, turned to the left and ascended the
sloping plain which lies at the base of the Shinshiu range. The road
over this was almost perfectly straight, and had the appearance of a
well kept gravelled walk. After 1^ hours we came to the other side
of the plain, where a sudden descent took us down to a small stream
which flowed through a wild-looking valley. The upper part of the
hills forming the sides of the valley were covered with green, but the
lower parts were in most places much broken, revealing, by the jagged
surfaces, the slaty character of the underlying rock. After ascending
some distance over the stony road by the side of the stream, we
diverged into a valley on the left, which was more wooded. A sharp
ascent of 1| hours from the stream when we first touched it brought
us to the summit of the Gombei tdge, from which, as well as from many
points during the ascent, we had splendid views of the Tenriu-gawa
valley with the mountains on the opposite side, the Kdshiu range, and
more to the north, Yatsu-ga-take.
On the other side of the pass the scenery was quite like that of
many other passes, the bounding hills thickly "covered with trees, with
a mountain torrent flowing through the valley. After walking down-
wards for one hour and 40 minutes we came to a bridge over the stream,
beyond which the path again ascended for about 80 minutes. From
this we descended through a very narrow close valley, which continued
to wind about, until finally it opened out into the broader valley of the
Kisp-gawa, where we joined the Nakasend6, 12 cho from Miyanokoshi.
From this to Fukushima, where we stayed all night, is a distance of
1 n 80 cho. This is a curious town; built on both sides of the river,
'KurAgAchi was given as the name of this mountain at one place near Inabe.
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ATKINSON : YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-BAN, AND TATE -TAMA. 21
and having communication by means of two bridges, although the busy
part of the town is situated on the left bank. Like all large towns, it
possesses no good hotel ; we stayed at the best, and found it very
indifferent.
II. HAKU-SAN.
Leaving Fukushima we took the road along the right bank of the
river for some distance, then turned to the right amongst low, wooded
hills towards Kurozawa. A little beyond half-way we came to the
entrance of a very beautiful glen, at the opening of which stood an
immense crag of some silicious rock, approached by a bridge over the
rivulet. It evidently was held sacred, from the fact that a platform had
been built in front, and at various places round about images were
placed. After about 20 minutes' walk through the glen we came to a
more open and elevated part of the valley, near a small rest-house called
Nakazawa, from which we had a magnificent View of the glen, with the
dark, gloomy mass of the Shinshiu Koma-ga-take in the background.
From this point the road kept ascending and winding till the torii facing
Ontake- san, just above Kurozawa, was gained. Ontake lay 60° W. of
N., and behind us was Shinshiu no Koma-ga-take 5° S. of E. Below
us, the valley of Kurozawa appeared like a sort of amphitheatre, lined
with dense cryptomerias, and from it we could almost trace the road up
the mountain. From the village it lies nearly N. W., and is ascended
during the late' part of the summer by bands of pilgrims. There is a
very comfortable hotel kept by Mr. Hara.
A short distance from Kurozawa two rivers, Odaki and Nishino,
join, but from that point till they flow into the Kiso-gawa no name is
given to the river. We wished to take the road into Hida by the
Higesuri t6ge, ascending the valley of the Odaki, the right stream, and
to the left of Ontake, but no one seemed to be aware of the existence of
such a pass. They spoke of a Takeguchi tdge, and we afterwards
learnt that during the chronological period Tempd (1880-44) the road
into Hida led over the Higesuri tdge, but that more recently this had
been abandoned, and a better road made two valleys distant.
Leaving Kurozawa, we crossed the bridge over the Nishino-gawa
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22 ATKINSON : TATSU-GA- TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AMD TATE-TAMA.
and ascended on the left bank of the Odaki, winding in and oat,
now ascending, sow descending, by the road which ran at some height
above the river, on the face of the hills. The scenery was by no
means remarkable, differing in no respect from the common valley
scenery of Japan. About 1| or 2 ri from Eurozawa, in one of the
small side valleys, there was a waterfall of some prettiness. The water
flowed down a narrow channel between ledges of rock, and over a series
of steps in the same rock. At a higher point in the same valley the
water fell in a pretty cascade, although small, over the irregular face
of the rock.
Our resting-place was Odaki, said to be three ri from .Eurozawa,
although probably the ri were of 50 cho. The valley in which it lies
runs at that point nearly east and west. The village is situated on the
hill some distance from, and above, the river, and appears to be the
resort of numerous pilgrims who come in bands to ascend Ontake-san.
It is said to be 7 ri, of 86 cha> from this village to the summit, while
the distance from Eurozawa is less. The time for the great incursion
of pilgrims had not yet arrived, but even now there were a great many
in the tea-houses. They form themselves into companies, and, under
the guidance of a leader, who is generally elected on account of the
number of times he has made the pilgrimage, start on their journey on a
particular day, and are expected to arrive. at the various places on their
way at fixed times. On that day the hotel keeper suspends, in a
conspicuous place/ one of the small flags seen hanging in front of the
house, with the badge of the band expected, or already in the house.
The name of the keeper of the principal hotel is Taki.
On the following morning we left Odaki to cross the Shindd into
Mino. About 80 cho up the valley we passed the last village, Nikenya,
to be found on this side of the pass. After walking along the valley,
going up and down for an hour and a half, we descended to the
bridge crossing the river a little above the place where it was joined
by a tributary on the right bank. The bridge crossed over to the foot
of a lofty crag, below which the water was of a brilliant green colour.
Beyond the bridge the road followed the course of the tributary, and
was very irregular and narrow. Sometimes it passed over rough and
stony ground, sometimes along the face of a crag where a path had to
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ATKINSON: TATSU-GA-TAKB, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA. 28
be made by placing trunks of trees lengthwise and binding them together
and to the rock with the trailing stems of creepers, and sometimes over
wet and clayey ground. After two hoars' walking from Odaki, we came
to the bank of a little streamlet, close to the place where it flowed into
the river whose coarse we were following, and very picturesquely
situated. Bight opposite the point where the waters met rose a lofty
crag, bare for a great distance up, and above, covered to the top, about
800 ft. high, with trees. By walking down to the larger river over
the sandy and gravelly bed, and looking up the main stream, we got
a most charming view of the river as it flowed through a very narrow
gorge— rocks with parallel sides, quite destitute -of vegetation near
the water, but above with trees growing out and meeting above, forming
a sort of tunnel, with the* clear, green, deep water of the river at the
bottom. At the upper end of this gorge indications of the rapids could
just be seen, as the river makes a somewhat sudden bend on entering
the gorge. A pathway leads to a small open part of the rocky wall on
one side, and here could be seen the holes in the opposite wall, made
for the purpose of fixing barriers across when it is desired to stop the
progress of the wood which is floated down this stream.
After two hours' more climbing over the same kind of road as
before, and always under the shade of the forest till just below the top,
-we reached the summit, 4,670 feet above the sea. Seven cho down on
the other side is a small stream of good water, which made an excellent
spot for lunch. From the summit the valley appeared to proceed in a
general direction 80° W. of S., but the day was too misty to permit us to
make out any of the mountains in front. The distance from the summit
to the bridge at the foot of the pass on the Mino side was 49 cho and
took us 1 J hours. The road on this side was rather steeper than on
the Shinshiu side, and in many places was very difficult. We descended
under the shade of trees, over a road which frequently seemed to vanish
altogether, ,and we were not sorry to arrive at the bottom. The
view from the bridge, however, well repaid us. Below it, flowed the
lovely, green water of the Doai-gawa, and looking towards the upper part
of its course, immediately above the bridge, we saw it fall in a heavy,
almost solid, mass over a portion of its bed about 15 ft. high, breaking
into the whitest foam at its base. The channel then bent sharply to
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24 ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA.
the left, and about 10 or 20 feet below, again to the right at the point
where it passed under the bridge. The sides of the channel were ver-
tical and high, covered at the top with trees, and they served to cast
into intense gloom the water near the bridge. The intense blackness
of the water here gradually shaded off through the most lively green to
the most brilliant white, as it approached the base of the fall, where it was
illuminated by the sun's rays. Below the bridge the view was likewise
striking and beautiful, but very different. The river widened and
flowed in the shape of a crescent between hills at least 2,000 feet high,
sharp, and thickly clad with trees. It then continued its course, and
our road followed it at a considerable height, along a valley which, at
first very narrow, after a distance of a n or rather more, made a bend,
and then opened out into a broad, well- cultivated valley. The rocks
in this district seemed to be much disintegrated, for we frequently
passed over immense quantities which had fallen in a broken condition
from the hills above. We remained all night at Chikechi, at the house
of Mr. Miyada.
The road we had taken was a &hindo> and has now entirely
displaced the old Higesuri toge, so that the Eochd at Odaki told us that
he knew of no coolies acquainted with that way.
On the following morning we left Chikechi and walked down the
valley for some distance, -.then turned to the right up a hill and passed
through a pilgrims' village, in which all the houses appeared to have
been quite recently built. From this the road led up over two hills,
about 700 ft. above the village we started from, and after descending
from the second one, we entered a broad valley, filled with rice-fields,
and with a few houses scattered at considerable intervals. To the col-
lection of houses in this valley, separated from one another often by
half a mile, the name Kashimo-mura was given, and the river was called
Kashimo-gawa. For about 1£ miles the road kept on the left .bank,
and then crossed over to the opposite side and ascended a low hill which
formed the dividing line between Hida and Mino. At the summit of the
pass stood a large red torii, through which on a clear day could be seen
the sacred mountain of Haku-san. From the summit to the first house
in Mimaino, the village at the foot of the pass on the Hida side, was
said to be 10 cho, but the village was almost as straggling as that of
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ATKINSON I YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA. 25
Kashimo. It contained no tea-houses, and we had a walk of nearly a
ri before we came to Nojiri, where there* is a very convenient resting
place, kept by Mr. Imai.
A small stream flowed from the pass through Mimaino and Nojiri,
and we continued to follow it on the right bank for about 8 miles, where
it made a sudden bend to the right, and was joined by another stream
from a valley on the left. Up to this point the scenery had been pretty
and pleasing — crags standing out here and there, and crevices in the
rocks filled with vegetation. But at the bend the character of the scenery
changed : — from being merely pretty, it became grand and gloomy. The
gorge of the river was very narrow ; the sides inclined very steeply, and
were covered with funereal-like cryptomerias with a luxuriance hardly to
be imagined. The atmosphere seemed to become oppressive, and it was
with a feeling of relief that, after about three-quarters of a mile, we emerged
into the valley of the Masuda-gawa, an important river, flowing past
nearly at right angles on its way to join the Eiso-gawa. From this
point we passed up a broad valley bounded by moderately high hills, and
filled with rice-fields, mulberry plantations, and cultivated fields — all
indicating a pretty high degree of prosperity in this part of Hida.
We saw no such signs in other parts of this province which we
visited afterwards, but our observations were confined to the western
boundary. •
We passed through several good-sized villages, Nakaro — and at
Gero we rested all night, and endeavoured to gain information about the
proper route to take to ascend Haku-san, but we only succeeded in
ascertaining the depth of ignorance in which the people were plunged.
The next morning we came to a pretty large village, called Hagiwara,
with two or three large streets, belonging to the federation Misato-mura.
This is the name given to the collection of villages, of which I have
mentioned three, Nakaro, Gero and Hagiwara, situated on the banks of
the Masuda-gawa, and ruled by the local government seated in Gero.
We afterwards came across two or three instances of the same arrange-
ment, in which the mura seems to correspond to the ordinary word go.
There is no definite spot called Misato, but this is merely a name given
to the collection of villages.
VOL. VIII. 4
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26 ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
At Hagiwara we obtained coolies to carry our light baggage, the
greater part being sent direct tq Toyama through Takayama. Our
intention was to cross over tho hills between this place and the right
branch of the Masuda-gawa, called the Maze-gawa: to ascend it as far
as possible, and then to cross over from that valley to that of the
Shira-kawa, descending which would bring us to the base of Haku-san,
which we wished to ascend from the Hida side. The ignorance dis-
played by thb inhabitants of this province, even when we got quite
close to the mountain, was astonishing, and the accounts we received
from those who professed to know the road were as alarming as they
proved to be inaccurate. On the map of Hida in our possession a road
was indicated as -for as Kaware on the Maze-gawa ; it then ceased,
and left a gap between that .village and Oppara. In the same way, a
gap was indicated between the valley of the Maze-gawa and that of the
Shira-kawa, and we were at first told that it would be necessary to go
round into Mino, and to reenter Hida at the head of the Shira-kawa.
Fortunately, at Kaware we met a man who had gone as far as the
upper part of tho latter valley, and this proved that our undertaking
was possible.
Starting from Hagiwara we crossed the river in a boat guided by
means of a rope stretched across the stream, and making straight away
from tho river, we ascended the hill opposite the village. The road
was steep and stony, but after an hour's walking we gained the summit,
from which about 2 hours' walking down the valley on the other side
brought us to Nakakiri, in tho valley of the Maze-gawa. From here to
Euroishi is a little more than half a ri: Below the hill which separates
this from the preceding village, Sugo, we passed a very fine temple
belonging to the Ikko-shu sect of Buddhists, called Eeirinji. It was
smaller, but decorated in the same style as the Honguwanji temples.
From Kuroishi to the best house in Kaware — that of Mr. Tozo —
. is one n, but we went half a ri farther on, and were lodged in a small
private house belonging to Mr. Yohachi. All along this valley the
mulberry trees, which seemed to be the principal thing grown, were
cultivated in the old fashion, and were allowed to grow to large trees,
thus giving the fields the appearance of orchards. The general effect
was much more pleasing than that of tho fields in Shinshiu and other
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKB, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE- YAM A. 27
provinces where the modern method is followed of catting down the
trees to near the root, although it is said that in this way much finer
leaves are obtained.
The road from Kaware followed the direction of the river for nearly
one ri on the right bank, where it crossed to the other side over a rude
wooden bridge. Thence it ascended and descended to the level of a
tributary of the Maze-gawa. This we crossed, and then climbed the
Hills between it and the main river, which we touched, and crossed at a
point right opposite Oppara. The valley of the Maze-gawa is hero
much broader than above or below, and the ground seemed to be fairly
well cultivated. The road between Kaware and Oppara did not present
any difficulties whatever, although it is not indicated on any of the maps
of Hida. It was nothing more than a footpath, it is true : not broad
enough for horses or cattle, but in this respect it did not differ from the
majority of the roads which are marked. On the hills above Oppara
I found Scrophularia alata and a species of Cucubalus,
From Oppara to Naradani the road was pretty good, and asoended
on the right bank of the Maze-gawa. There being no tea-house in the
village we were allowed to make use of a largo temple called Yukokuji,
like the one near Kuroishi, to lunch in. After lunch we started to cross
over the hills between this and the upper part of the Shira-kawa valley,
another part not marked in the map. We here left the main stream and
ascended a tributary on the right bank, up a pretty steep ascent, often
crossing and recrossing the stream, to the top of the first pass, 910 feet
above Naradani. From this we descended under the shelter of trees all the
way to the right bank of a small stream which flowed into the Shira-kawa.
Beyond the stream the path again ascended to the top of the second pass
(4,160 ft. above sea level), from which we obtained a fine view of the
Shira-kawa valley, with Haku-san, partly veiled in mist, in a direction
80° W. of N. A descent of 15 cho between the two branches of .the
Shira-kawa, called on our left and right respectively the Tera-kawa and
Miwo-kawa, brought us, after crossing the latter, to Kurodani, throe ri
from Naradani. Thus we had succeeded in traversing a second time,
without any especial difficulty, a part of the road which the map-makers
had evidently considered too uncertain to be indicated. A moderately
good road along the right bank of the Shira-kawa brought us, after
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28 ATKINSON : YAT8U-GA-TAKB, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
passing many small villages united under the one government of Shoho-
kawa-mura, to Iwase, 2} ri dewn the valley. This term mura includes
all the smaller divisions under the name of kutni. In most of these
hamlets the thatched roofs are made very much inclined, to prevent
snow from lying on them in winter. In the whole of Hida tea-houses
appeared to he wanting, and indeed, in most of the places we travelled
through, the ordinary houses were few and distant. We always found
some difficulty in getting accommodation for the night, various excuses
being offered, until the Kocho succeeded in persuading some one to take
pity upon us. In none of the villages did the people seem to regard us
as objects of curiosity, as had been the case in most other parts of Japan
where few foreigners were seen, and in Iwase this was explained when
we found one old man who professed the greatest astonishment on
learning that we were not Japanese officials. I have never been in any
other part of Japan where so much ignorance prevails on almost every
subject. Being cut off by high mountain ranges on almost every side,
the inhabitants hear no news, and I should think received no instruction
of any sort, judging from the apparent scarcity of schools.
' After leaving Iwase we crossed to the left bank of the river a little
below the village, after which we continued down the valley, sometimes
near, qnd sometimes away from the river. About a ri beyond Iwase we
crossed one of the principal tributaries to the Shira-kawa. Three ri
more, over a very irregular road, brought us to Miboro, the village from
which we were to make the ascent of Haku-san. For the purpose of
dividing our baggage once more, We rested for a short time at the
hotfse of Mr. Toyama, a rich farmer who has well kept rooms and who
is willing to accommodate travellers. Although now reduced to the
most moderate dimensions, with food for 4 days only, and sufficient
covering to keep us warm, the Koch6 said that the baggage would
require 6 men, and as the same amount was afterwards carried by one
Kaga man along a level road, some idea may be formed of the difficulty
of the ascent from this side. The heavier part of the baggage was left
in Miboro, as we- intended to return there, and we took with us only
what was absolutely necessary; but after the experience of the first
afternoon, we could no longer wonder that the load of each man should
be a light one. As the summit of tho mountain is clear only in the
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, BAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA. 29
early morning, it is necessary to sleep at the Murodd, and to make the
final ascent from that point, which is 9 n from Miboro. But as we
started too late to reach the Murodd in one day, we had to sleep in a
small log cabin, 5 n up the valley. The following day we could go no
further than the Murodd, and we therefore had to provide for three
nights' camping out.
We started from Miboro at 10.30 a.m. on the 81st July, and
continued along the valley path for a short distance beyond the point
where the Ojira-kawa flows into the main stream ; we then turned back
at an acute angle and ascended by the left bank of this stream, which is
of considerable size at this point. After about 45 minutes of somewhat
difficult climbing, an earnest of what was to follow, we rested for lunch,
and by 12 o'clock were again ready for a start. Beyond this we found
many extremely difficult and dangerous places to get over, such as
climbing up the face of a steep rock where the footing was almost nil
supported only by the branch of a tree, or by the twining stem of a
creeper. Two or three times, having to cross and recross the stream,
we were able to do so with the help of stepping stones, but after the third
time it had to be crossed by fording. This was neither an easy nor a
safe task, on account of the depth and strength of the current. Indeed,
oftentimes we should have found it impossible to cross without the
assistance of our coolies, who, being wood-cutters, were accustomed to
this kind of work. Up to the first fording I had been walking in boots
with waraji underneath, but on exchanging them for tali and ivaraji I
found the latter so good for this kind of climbing, not only because of the ,
*
ease with which one can wade though water, but also because the footing
on smooth rocks is so much firmer, that I continued walking in them to
the summit. The scenery all the way up was splendid ; at one place
where we had to ford the river three times in about ten minutes, the
river flowed with great speed through a narrow gorge, the vertical sides
of which were brilliantly tinted with the crimson colours of azaleas and
the early autumn tints of some creeper. Having passed through the
gorge we found, on coming to land once more, that the ravine opened
out into a semicircle, with a smooth sandy beach, while everywhere
about immense cryptomerias formed a fit setting for this little gem.
A short distance beyond this we left the course of the river, and ascended
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80 ATKINSON : YATSU-GA- TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA.
under trees, nor did we again see the river until 4£ ri from Miboro was
reached, a point from which we saw one branch of this river falling
over the face of a rock for about 8§0 feet, a splendid example of a fall.
The rock was remarkable : it looked as though it had been sliced right
through, the other half having been carried away, thus leaving in front
of the fall an immense amphitheatre. The river had worn a deep
channel in the upper part of the wall, and escaped through the bottom,
just as Eegon no taki at Nikko does. The fall can be seen only from
the side of the valley, almost on a level with the top of the fall, and
the point of observation also recalls the Nikkd waterfall; The face of
the rock appeared to be formed of basaltic columns, sometimes vertical,
sometimes bending into a funnel-like form, and at other times curved.
The second (the right) branch of the river flows through a chasm on the
opposite side of this rock, but forms no fall. The name of the water-
fall is Shira-midzu no taki, and the most exaggerated reports of its
height are current, but the height given above is probably as near the
true height as the absence of accurate measurements will permit.
The path now bent round and descended to the level of the stream
a short distance above the fall, and after crossing it, and continuing at
right angles to the direction of its flow, we descended sharply to the
level of the right branch, at a point where several hot sulphur springs
arise. Here we found the rude log cabin in which we were to spend the
night. It had been built by wood-cutters, and was provided with
several hooks, hanging 'from the beam of the roof, for the purpose of
supporting pans and kettles over the fire, which we very soon had blazing.
After enjoying a good night's rest, notwithstanding the hardness
of the ground upon which we had to sleep, we continued our ascent
the next morning, following the right branch of the Ojira-kawa for about
l£ ri, jumping from stone to stone, or wading from one side to the other,
but always in the bed of the stream, the water of which was intensely
cold, slightly warmed here and there where a hot sulphur spring
on the side sent its tiny rill into the main stream. At the end of the
H ri we came to some small solfataras on the left bank, from which
steam and sulphuretted hydrogen were escaping, and a crystalline
deposit, consisting of sulphur and some white body, was being formed
on the surface. ' *
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAXE, BAKU-SAN, AND TATE -TAMA. 81
Up to this point wo had met with nothing that could be called
really hard climbing, but now, instead of being able to jump from stone
to stone, or wading from one side, of the river to the other, we had
to ascend the stream through the ice-cold water, just melted from the
glaciers above, and to climb from stone to stone as the inclination of the
valley became greater. Having ascended in this way about half a ri we
came to the first glacier, or properly snow-slope. Being of a moderate
inclination, this was comparatively a relief to us, and with the help of
our iron-shod poles we ascended easily. This valley faced the E., and
in crossing from it to the second valley, which faced N. E., we
encountered some very steep places of loose earth and stones, which
suggested remarks as to how they were to be descended. We ascended
the second stretch of snow with some difficulty, as the inclination was
greater, but our difficulties were much increased on leaving this and
entering a smaller valley,. where the inclination of the snow was about
80°. It was so steep that we could get scarcely any hold in spite of our
spiked poles, and the only way I found it possible to make any progress
was to drive down the pole into the snow, rest my right foot against it,
and with the left scoop out a hole in the snow to rest upon, while I
drew out the pole in order to drive it in higher up. This was a very
laborious process, and heartily glad I was when we got to the upper
part of this stretch, although tlje most dangerous part of the valley
still lay before us. This was a narrow and steep gorge, apparently
worn by weathering out of a lava stream, and well named Jigohu dani,
which we might translate freely as " the valley of the shadow of
death." While climbing this we had literally to hold on with hands
and feet, and at one narrow place it was only possible for one
to ascend at a time, the others keeping sheltered under a large rock just
above them, from the shower of stones let loose by the one ascending.
At first we did not appreciate the danger, but while waiting uncon-
cernedly the ascent of the first coolie, we were suddenly started by his
frantic shouts and by the sound of something falling. Instinctively
creeping in towards the side and under the shadow of the rock, we were
only just in time to avoid a large fragment of stone, which would have
been certain death to any one in its way. After that experience we were
more careful. The difficulties of that valley were, however, not yet
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82 ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAXE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
over, and one of the worst places was quite close to the top, where the
earth was .so loose, and the inclination so steep, that the danger of slipping
was very great. The most active of the coolies managed to get over it,
and these assisted the rest over with the help of a pole. This brought
us to the upper edge of the ridge, from which we could see the summit
of Haku-san rising high above us, while in other directions, an infinite
number of hills rolled away to the horizon. From the Jigoku dani to
the slope on the other side, at the base of Haku-san proper, was like
passing from winter to summer. On this slope numerous flowers
bloomed in all their native beauty, many which I had not hitherto found
elsewhere ; most noticeable of all the curious little FritiUariaKatmcliatensis.
From the edge of the ridge we descended to the stream* and following
this down a little way we left it and ascended a branch stream to the
edge of the slope from, which the summit of Haku-san rises. After
walking about half an hour over this, we reached the Murodo — a small
wooden house inhabited during the summer for 80 or 40 days by a
priest and hotel-keeper -in .one, who not only provides for the material
wants of the pilgrims in the shape of rice, but also attends to the spiritual
cravings of their nature by accompanying them to the summit, from
which he points out the principal mountains to be seen.
The accommodation was of the rudest description, and deeidedly
inferior to that of the previous night at the hot springs, where there
was, indeed, a separate hut for our coolies. The room in the Murodd
was larger, and divided by a partition into two parts, but there was no
difference as to the desirability of sleeping in either. Had the night not
.been so bitterly cold, it would have been pleasanter to sleep in the open
air than. in the hut, as we did, surrounded by our coolies, and by some
pilgrims who had arrived from Mino, and suffocated by the smoke from
the burning logs in the middle of the floor, which had no outlet but the
too small door.
We were obliged to remain here the whole afternoon, although the
summit was free from clouds during the greater part of the time, because
the rest of the country was enveloped in a thick mist, and the growling
of the thunder indicated that a storm was in progress somewhere. The
next morning, rising before daylight, we were able to reach the summit
before sunrise. The ascent from the hut is quite easy, and took us only
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
83
25 minutes. From the top a magnificent view of the Hida and Shinshiu
ranges, with others farther distant, was obtained. Beginning with the*
most northerly we saw Tate-yama, 58° E. of N.; Yari-ga-take, 20°
N. of E.; Nori-knra, 8° S. of E.; Yatsu-ga-take and Koshiu no Koma-ga-
take very faint; On-take-san, 60° E. of 8.; and lastly Shinhhiu no
Koma-ga-take very faint. Besides these there were the lower mountains
immediately surrounding Haku-san, as Bes-san, its nearest neighbour.
Haku-san is apparently part of the ridgo of an old crater, of which there
-were probably two close together, the peaks called Tsurugi and Oku-no-in
forming the remains of the other sides. All appear now to be composed
of loose stones, lava of various kinds. Haku-san itself is the largest and
highest, but the other points cannot be more than 50 to 100 feet lower.
The relations of the peaks will be seen by reference to the diagram of
the summit. The dotted lines indicate what were probably the two
/<>• 4-.
hf.
M^8* J
&?**£
OfCu-KQ i-rv
craters, each with a lake at the bottom ; there is a third smaller pool
almost directly west of the Koya-ga-ike, but which is probably not a
third crater. The crater of which Haku-san forms one side was probably
the earliest, the north one having been formed afterwards, and the
stream of lava which apparently flowed away to the north has been
subsequently denuded. The water in Koya-ga-ike is of a dull colour,
while that of tho northern lake is of a beautiful turquoise, both perfectly
tasteless.
vol. vra. 6
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84 ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA.
At the west end of Haku-san is a striking mass of rock, which
resembles the watch-tower of an old castle, and is called 6takara-no-
kura or " the store-house of precious things."
The height of Haku-san is approximately 800 ft. above the Murodd,
and 8,700 ft. above the sea ; Koya-ga-ike is 850 ft., and the northern
lake 400 ft. below the summit.
A descent of 25 minutes brought us again to the Murodd, from
which after a slight refreshment we started to descend to* Yumoto, on
the Kaga side. The previous afternoon we had decided not to return to
Miboro, as the descent of the Jigoku dani and the snow- slopes would be
worse than the ascent, but to endeavour to reach Toyama by skirting
the range between Hida and Kaga and Etchiu. This we afterwards
found was not possible, the pnly way being to make for Kanazawa and
from that place to get to Toyama by following the main road, the
Hokurokud6. We sent word to the Kocho of Miboro to send our
baggage to Toyama, where we found it on our arrival.
Leaving the Murodo the road continued for about a ri and a half
down the slope of Haku-san, and was very steep and stony, for which
kind of road and direction tabi and waraji are quite unsuitable. Beyond
the foot of the mountain proper the road ran along a narrow spur,
descending always, sometimes gently, sometimes down very steep and
rugged parts. In many places the back of the spur was very narrow,
and it was possible to look down into a deep valley on either side, that
on our left being called Yanagi dani, and that on the right Yu no tani.
Through each ran a river, the two streams uniting about 8 cho below
Yumoto. In passing one point we could hear the roar of a waterfall,
but on account of the thick mist which enveloped everything, we could
see nothing of it. Our guide said that it was 40 ken (240 ft.) high.
About 1 ri before reaching Yumoto the road became very steep, and
even the coolies slipped several times. For some distance the path was
provided with cross-bars, just as on Nantai-zan. After four hours walk-
ing we arrived at Yumoto, situated on the right branch of the river, and
said to be 4£ ri from the Murodd.
The village consists of a collection of hotels for the benefit of those
who wish to bathe in the chalybeate waters of the place. We stopped
a day and a half at the hotel of Mr. Yamada, where we were very
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ATKINSON: YATSTJ-GA-TAKE, HAKU-8AN, AND TATE-TAMA. 85
comfortable and well cared for. The village is completely shut in by
densely wooded hills, and beyond what can be seen from the village
itself, which is prettily situated, there is nothing to interest the
traveller.
There is only one bath, which is divided by a railing into two parts,
for men and women respectively. The water is muddy and of a greenish
colour, whilst the towels which were hung out to dry had a reddish tint,
proving the presence of a proto-salt of iron dissolved in the water,
probably ferrous carbonate dissolved in carbonic acid. Besides this
there is a spring the water of which is charged with carbonic acid,
though not quite so strong as the Nassau waters. There were no signs
of any sulphuretted hydrogen waters, which, taken into account with
the very slight evidences of volcanic activity mentioned above, the hot
springs and the solfataras, indicates that the volcanic forces are feeble in
this mountain compared, for example, with Tate-yama or Asama-yama,
or even Fuji-san.
During the winter the valley is said to be filled with snow to a
depth of 15 or 20 ft., but about the 4th or 5th month it is sufficiently
cleared to permit the village to be reinhabited.
On the 4th of August we descended the valley towards Ushikubi,
5 ri from Yumoto. The path was narrow and stony in places, and
for some distance the scenery did not differ much from that round
Yumoto. But about 8 ri down the valley, the left bank of the stream
became bolder — lofty crags stood out, and vertical walls, covered in
patches with cryptomerias,. rose from the river to a great height.
The whole of this part reminded me greatly of the Palisades of the
Hudson. Below this the valley became less remarkable, till we arrived
at Ushikubi, a village of considerable size, remarkable for the great
height of the houses, and the great inclination of their roofs, indicating
great depth of snow during the winter. We lunched at a very good
hotel kept by Mr. Nagai, a wealthy farmer. About 2£ ri below Ushi-
kubi we passed through Fukazimura, a little way beyond which is a
remarkable bridge over the Tetori-gawa. It is very high above the
water, and the foundations are very strongly built, apparently to permit
the water to raise very high during the spring floods without prevent-,
ing the passage over it.
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86 ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAXE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
The character of the lower part of the valley of the Tetori, tho
river we had been following, was that of a winding, rocky and wooded
valley. In one or two places the views were striking, and different from
those of most valleys, but on the whole the scenery was monotonous.
After resting all night in poor quarters at Onnawara, we continued
our way down the valley through fields of hemp and tobacco. We
gradually descended on the level of the terrace at some height above the
river, and the whole of the level part seemed well cultivated. Higher
than this road we were on was another terrace, evidently an earlier
bed of the river, which has now cat fpr itself a gorge through the later
bed. Passing through Yoshino and Tsurugi we reached Eanazawa,
also called Oyama by the country people, where we saw many houses
marked with the ominous strip of yellow paper, a sign of cholera being
in the house. From* Eanazawa we got kuruma to Tsubata, where we
stayed all night at Nishijima-ya, and found ourselves well treated and
very comfortable.
Just beyond Tsubata the road has to cross a range of low hills
between Kaga and Etchiu. Now there is a shindo, along which kuruma
can go with ease over the Amata toge. . The new road branches off from
the Hokurokud6 at Take-no-hashi, and rises very .gradually. The
greater part of the surface, however, is very rough, but if properly rolled
would be an excellent road, upon which it would not be necessary for
the kuruma coolies to go at a walking pace. It joins the main road at
the beginning of Imaisurugi, four ri from Tsubata. Just at the point
where the shindo meets the old road at right angles, we found an officer
stationed with a minute squirt bottle filled with a solution of carbolic
acid, with which he vainly endeavoured to disinfect travellers coming
from the direction of Eanazawa. As our kuruma dashed round the
corner of the road, the officer gave us a severe look, but seemed to come
to the conclusion that we were free from infection, and so allowed us to
pass without further molestation. Four ri eight cho beyond Imaisurugi
we passed through Takawoka, which was just being rebuilt after a very
extensive fire. To Eosugi the road is quite level and bordered with
various trees, pine, etc. The road stijl continues level for 1^ n more,
winding in and about rice-fields, though it is not very evident why it
should not have been made straight and shorter. About 1 ri from
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA. .87
To jama the road ascends and crosses a group of hills, which divide the
plain of Etchiu into two parts. Vehicles can easily go over the hills,
and at the eastern side the road passes through a considerable cutting,
from which the traveller has a magnificent view of the Hida, Shinshiu and
Etchiu ranges. At the base of the hill the new road rejoins the old one,
which is lined with pine as far as Toyama. * This is a pretty large
town, situated on both banks of the Jindzu-gawa, which we crossed by a
bridge of boatfi. "We stayed at Hirai-ya, in the upper part of the town.
The next day it rained so heavily that we decided to improve our chance
of having fine weather for the ascent of Tate-yama by waiting here for
another day. We learnt that in Toyama there were from 80 to 40
eases of cholera per day, but we did not ascertain the percentage of
deaths. The inhabitants endeavoured . to propitiate the irate deities by
hanging shimenawa all over the town. On each side of every street
were hung festoons of straw ropes with gohei hanging from them, either
of the usual shape, as they are found attached to sticks, or formed by
making two parallel cuts in a rectangular sheet of paper, then bending
the middle of the three strips backwards and attaching it to the rope,
so that the two outer strips hang down like the prongs of a two-
pronged fork. Jhis form is never fixed to a stick, but is used only for
the shimenawa. In addition to the lines of rope, in many streets there
were also zigzags stretched from side to > side. After being consecrated
by the priest, the shimenawa are hung up, but nevertheless they did not'
seem to be very certain in their effects, for we noticed that some of the
houses which were protected in this way had the dismal yellow papers
hung up over them. 'In one street, indeed, almost every house was
thus distinguished.
m. TATE-YAMA.
The morning of the 8th August proved to be dull, but as it was not
raining we decided to start. We were unable to obtain horses to
convey our luggage, even over the plain, the reason given by the
kwcaisha being that all the available horses were employed in the
coaches which run along this part of the Hokurokudo. We had to rest
satisfied with this assurance, although the transport of the baggage by
coolies caused us considerable delay.
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88 ATKINSON : YATSU-GA- TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
To Kamidaki, at the south-east corner of the plain, the road ran
through rice-fields, bordered in most cases with an edging of millet.
All the way along we might have had a fine view of Tate-yama and the
neighbouring mountains had it been clear, as at the beginning of our
walk we could now and then catch glimpses of one or other of the peaks
peeping above the clouds. But before we had reached the other side of
the plain, just below the bluff which forms its boundary, clouds enveloped
everything; and rain began to fall. Kamidaki is situated at the foot of
the above mentioned bluff, and is a larger village than most of those in
the mountainous regions we had hitherto passed through. From this
village we at once ascended the hill, and found ourselves on a plateau
which ran for nearly a ri, until the road descended towards the banks of
the Jdguwanji-gawa/ which it kept close to as far as Okada-mura. Near
this I found a species of Lycoris, belonging to the family of the Amaryl-
lidace®, which we were told was called in Japanese, " Ha mizu hana
mizu," i.e. " the flowers do not see the leaves." From this village, which
appeared to consist of one house only, we proceeded up the valley to
Hara-mura. On account of the heavy rains the river was very much
swollen, and the road in places had been washed away, so that we had
to wade through the stream. The river bed is a very broad one, and
there were a great many streams rushing down various parts of the bed
with such velocity that the noise of the stones being carried down,
grating against the bottom and against one another, was like the sound
of distant cannonading. Above the river on either side were terraces
which were the remains of an older bed . of the river. It was over the
terrace on the left bank that our road went, except when we had to
descend in a few places to the level of the water. The only hills to be
seen were the low ones on each side of the valley, and they were
grassy — not at all wooded. About 8 ri from Kamidaki we crossed a
tributary of the Jdguwanji-gawa, on the banks of which were numerous
lime-kilns, indicating the nature of the rock of this neighbourhood.
During all this time it continued to rain heavily, so that the road
became little better than a water-course.- Massing through Omiya and
Hongu, we arrived at Hara-mura, the rain having ceased, and there
being every prospect of fine weather held out by the appearance of the
sky. This promise was fulfilled in the early morning, though the fall in
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ATKINSON : YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA. 89
the barometer during the night warned us to expect farther bad weather.
Leaving Hara-mnra we ascended the gentle slope of the valley for about
a n, after which we entered what seemed, at the beginning, to be a
beautiful wooded ravine. The path was tolerably good for a consider-
able distance (we had now entered upon the shindo between Etchiu and
Shinshiu), running along the face of the steep hills on the left bank of
the river. By and by, however, the heavy rains having broken down
part of the original road, we were obliged sometimes to scramble up the
bed of the river, and sometimes to make our way at a high elevation
above the river, across masses of loose earth which had slipped down
and left nothing but a mere talus of wet clay, which might at any time
have given way under the additional pressure. Beyond this we had
again to descend to the river, and make our way, first along the level
sandy bed which had not yet become disintegrated, and afterwards from
boulder to boulder. The scene became grand and savage in the
extreme ; huge boulders scattered about the bed — immense, bare crags
rising sheer from the river, and the roaring, rushing stream, carrying
down stones with a noise which sounded like thunder — all combined to
impress one with the grandeur of the Dashi-wara-dani.
At the head of this valley two streams join, and our path led
us for a very short distance up the side of the cliffs on the left bank
of the stream. We soon descended rapidly to the bridge, or rather
the place where it had been before it had been washed away. In its
place a kago no watashi had been put up for the purpose of crossing
the stream. Having heard most romantic descriptions of this appar-
atus, we were not a little excited on hearing, as we did at Hara-mura,
that it would be necessary to cross in one of these baskets. The very
name seemed to conjure up a picture of a narrow, lofty ravine, parallel-
sided, with a rope stretched across high above the river, and a luckless
individual swinging in {he basket half-way across. The first sight of
the actual circumstances quickly drove all the romance away. About
8 or 10 feet above the water a rope was stretched and fastened securely
to two rocks, one on either side, and hanging from the rope was an
ordinary mountain kago, with a rope from each end carried to the two
banks of the river. At one side was a coolie, whose duty it was to
paU the kago and its load across, which, he did by a series of jerks
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40 ATKINSON : YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
more resembling the jumping of a frog than any reasonable mode of
progression. The changes of feeling of the person crossing were
well marked in the varying expressions of his countenance. A look
of confidence and excitement, assumed on entering, speedily changed
to one of anxiety as he found himself hanging by a single rope over the
boiling torrent, and being dragged over by jerks, while, on suddenly
coming to land, as it were, against the smooth, rounded stone which
had to serve as a landing place, an expression of pain, which escaped
him for an instant, was immediately succeeded by one of an embar-
rassed reflection as to the possible means of getting out. It was not
an easy nor a rapid process of getting ourselves and luggage across,
but after spending about an hour we again continued our journey.
We then climbed over the hill which separated us from the right stream,
up the bed of which we ascended for some time, with views as grand
and majestic as those in the Dashi-wara-dani, till we turned to the
right and ascended the "road of 99 turnings." The Japanese use
the numbers 99 and 48 to express a large number, in the same way
as we are in the habit of using the number 1001. The road of the
"forty-eight shallow-reaches " in Musashi is another instance of this.
"We ascended to the summit, about 4,000 ft. above the sea, under
trees, then after walking along the ridge for a short distance we
descended to the plain, beyond which we crossed a tributary over a
bridge very much out of repair, and after another ascent and descent
we again entered the valley of the stream we left at the " road of
99 turnings." This valley consisted of a large, flat, open space covered
with large boulders, the remains of the great earthquake of 1858, which
broke away half of the mountain on one side. A walk across this plain
brought us to the baths, which appear to be very much patronized. The
accommodation is of the poorest kind, both as regards lodging and
bathing. During the night the rain came down in torrents, and only
ceased towards the morning. As the barometer, however, had risen
during the night, we trusted to having finer weather, and so we decided
to start, and, if necessary, wait at the Murodo for a fine day to ascend
to the summit of Tate-yama. By the time our baggage was divided,
part being sent on directly to Omachi, the sky had cleared to a great
extent. We then started, and crossing the river which flows through
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ATKINSON : TATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKD-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA. 41
the Dashi-wara-dani, made for the red-coloured precipitous hill to the
west of the baths. After a walk of 5 or 10 minutes we reached the base,
passing a dirty, yellowish-green pool of water, and we then climbed fto
the top of this hill, np the bed of a water course, which required
considerable exertion. Half an hour's hard climbing in this way brought
us to a level space at the top of this ridge, after crossing which we came
to the foot of the steepest bit of climbing we were to meet with. This
was the rocky bed of a series of cascades, and if there had been much
water, which fortunately for us there was not, it would have been
impossible to make the ascent. At it was, the constant climbing from
stone to stone, up an average inclination of 45°, was very arduous. As
the sky had cleared, the views we got on looking back were worth all
the trouble of the ascent. After rising for about an hour in this way,
we came to a ridge which permitted us to rest, and from which we had
a magnificent view of the valleys leading into the valley of the baths.
The streams flowing through each of these looked like wavy, silver
threads, and, contrasted with the green foliage around, presented a
* picture of extreme beauty. Above this point, instead of having to
climb from stone to stone, we had to climb up an earthy, slippery,
slope with the assistance of trees and branches which hung over us.
Above this, again, just before reaching the top of this part of the
ascent, we came to an almost vertical rock, with a few projecting
ledges, by which we were enabled to climb up, using hands and feet.
Progression in boots in such places would be quite impossible : it is
difficult enough wearing waraji, which possess a considerable degree of
flexibility. From the upper part of this ascent can be seen Tengu-bira,
Washi-ga-dake, and, up the Yu-dani, a deep lake called Kari-komi-ga-ike.
Into this lake the presiding deity of Tate-yama is said to have driven all
the hurtful animals of the district, in the same* way as a gardener throws
decayed leaves, etc., into a pit, and so the same name was given to the
lake. In Yu-dani there is another lake of hot sulphur water, called
Magodani. On the right we saw the lake which we passed last night
just before reaching the baths. It was called Dashi-wara-no-ike.
From the top of this ridge we descended for a considerable distance
by a muddy and boggy path, till we emerged on a grassy plain, about
the middle of which we came upon the regular route from Ashikuraji.
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42 ATKINSON : YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAXU-SAN, AND TAXE-YAMA.
Following this road we again ascended the rocky beds of several small
mountain streams, until we reached a large, flat plate of stone,
supported vertically, and called Kagami-no-iwa (mirror rock). Beyond
the stone we passed up the boulder-covered slope of the mountain, and
past several stretches of snow, till we reached the Murodd. Since the
time we came to the usual road, the rain had fallen heavily, and a dense
mist prevented our seeing anything whatever.
The Murodd was in much worse condition than that on Haku-
san : the draughts had much freer access to the inside, the mats were
much coarser, and the annoyance from the wood fire was quite as
great.
Late in the afternoon it cleared up sufficiently to permit us to visit
the remarkable solfataras, situated in a valley about 6 cho distant from
the hut. Turning to the left on leaving the Murod6, we passed between
two lakes, one shallow, with sloping sides, the other, on the left, with
vertical sides, and water of an intensely green colour, and probably, as
Dr. Naumann thinks, an old crater. Further on we came to the brow
of a hill from which, on a clear day, a bird's-eye view of the solfataras •
can be obtained* Descending the stony side of the hill, we reached the
soft, and sometimes muddy, bottom of the valley, which is broken up
by two or three mounds, of a pale yellow colour at a distance, but which
when seen nearer were found to be composed of a mixture of sulphur and
a white rock, probably a decomposed granite. From several points at the
lower part of these mounds issue jets of steam, mixed with sulphuretted
hydrogen, which deposit sulphur upon the sides of the opening. From
one of these openings the steam issued with a terrific noise, and with
sufficient force to carry lumps of the deposited sulphur 10 to 15 feet
away. The hissing sound caused by the number of steam jets suggested
a large engineering establishment in full operation. In another part of
the same valley we saw a large circular pit, in which a yellowish mud
was kept boiling and being projected to a height of 8 or 10 feet, falling
back again into the pit, or flowing over through a channel which carried
it off to a lower part of the valley. At the other end of the valley was
a much larger mud geyser, but the colour of the mud was different, as
it appeared to contain less sulphur ; it is said that some years ago a
violent eruption of this geyser took place* Mr. Nakazawa, who visited
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ATKINSON: YAT8U-OA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA. 48
these solfataras in 1877, said that everything was mnch more violent
now than formerly. Scattered %bout were very small ponds of boiling
water, through which gas escaped, and in some of them it was carious
to notice the form that the mud at the bottom toot as the gas babbled
through. The gas rose at first through a small hole, which widened at
the top, so that the bottom looked as a range of mountains would do if
they were hollow and could be seen from the inside.
The experience we had of the Murodd folly confirms the account
published in the Japan Herald of 1878. It is, without exception,
the worst we have met with, and it is remarkable that, although a
larger number of pilgrims ascend this mountain than ascend Haku-san,
the accommodation is so much worse. Not that the Murodd on
Haku-san is by any means a desirable habitation, but there are degrees
of badness, and the latter had the merit of being comparatively wind-
proof, and at least of being provided with doors. In the hut in which
we spent the night before ascending Tate-yama, the door had to be
closed with matting, there being no other means at hand of keeping
' out the bitterly cold wind. A night spent in any of these huts is
neither a good preparation for the fatigues of the coming ascent, nor
a relief from those of the past.
Rising early, we felt ourselves repaid for the exertions made to
ascend to the Murodd, by seeing the atmosphere quite clear about the
summit, and all the peaks appearing grandly through the moonlit air.
Accompanied by our guide we crossed the short stretch of level ground
between the hut and the base of the mountain, for a short distance
over the snow. The ascent was pretty direct, rising tolerably easily
at first, but after passing the first shrine, 860 ft. above the Murodd,
on a level with the ridge which connects Jo do -Ban with the Gohonsha,
the highest peak, the ascent became difficult. From the second shrine
(1050 ft. above the Murodd) we- had good view of the mountains in the
neighborhood of the Japan Sea, with the promontory of Noto stretching
away N. W., and here we got our first view of Fuji-san from this region.
Continuing the ascent we came upon the ridge, from which the actual
summit rises very sharply, crowned with a very picturesque temple.
Seeing the peak from the ridge one can understand how it received the
name Tate-yama (Standing peak), for it rises head and shoulders above
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44 ATKINSON! YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
any of the others,' and serves the mariner as a beacon. The ascent,
not including stoppages, took us exactly one hour ; whereas from the
Marod6 to the summit of Haku-san we were not more than 25 minutes,
over a much easier road. Magnificent as the view from Haku-san
was, it was far surpassed by that obtained from the summit of this
mountain, and we were extremely fortunate in having a morning so
clear that every point could be distinguished with the greatest ease —
mountain after mountain rolling away in the distance until they ended
in the beautifully formed cone of Fuji-san, on the opposite coast of
Japan.
Tate-yama is the name given to a range of mountains, all of which
are very high, and appear to be above 9,000 ft. above the sea. The
range runs nearly north and south, except the extreme point south,
where the direction changes to S. W. This point is called J6dosan, and
it is connected with the Gohonsha by a low ridge running nearly N. £.
Beyond the latter the range runs nearly N., and includes the high, sharp
peak called Onanji, then two lower rounded mountains, Manago-dake
and Bes-san, and is terminated at the north end by a high, striking,
rocky point, called Tsurugi-dake. The number of mountains to be
distinguished from the summit on a clear day is, perhaps, greater than
from any other mountain in Japan, unless it be Yari-ga-take in Hida.
Looking to the east we see on the extreme left, Miydkon-san and
Miy6gi-san in Echigo, then the Shinshiu Togakushi-san, the Nantai-zan
of Chiusenji, Yone-yama in Echigo, Asama-yama, with its cloud of
smoke distinctly visible. Then toward the south we see the range
of Yatsu-ga-take, with its isolated peak, Tateshima-yama ; beyond this
the simple eone of Fuji-san, and the two Koma-ga-take, in Kdshi and
Shinshiu. To the south of these again we find Ontake-san in Shinshiu,
Yari-ga-take, Norikura, and the pointed Easa-ga-dake, all in Hida;
nearer to us is Yakushi-dake, and almost south-west is Haku-san.
This is the last of the circle of mountains, and now we come to the
plains of Eaga and Etchiul the latter watered by the distinctly visible
rivers Jindzu-gawa, Joguwanji-gawa, Eamichi-gawa, and nearly north
of us, the Eurobe-gawa. All seem to enter the sea.
On the summit there are no lakes such as we found on Haku-san,
nor other evidences of the existence of the crater, except the generally
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE -YAM A. 45
volcanic nature of the rocks. All traces have probably been washed
away, leaving only harder rocks standing np isolated. The height of
the highest peak (Gohonsha) is about 9,250 ft. above the sea.
While we were still on the summit a number of pilgrims came up,
and although there was scarcely room for us to remain with any feeling
of safety, it was too good an opportunity of seeing a mountain service
to be lost. After some time had been spent in conversation with the
priest, in which the sum of yo rid was frequently mentioned, the priest
sank on his knees in front of the shrine, with all the pilgrims kneeling
around him, and offered up a prayer in which the names Tate-yama
and Ishikawa occurred many times, after which he clapped his hands
and a general cry of "namu amida butsu" followed, and when the
prayer was ended the most devout said " arigato" The priest then
rose from his knees and addressed his audience, giving them an account
of Izanami and Izanagi, after which he brought out various relics —
a spear, a sword, various coins, and a mirror — all of which were
received with exclamations of astonishment and intense satisfaction.
Rice and sake were next distributed, upon which the pilgrims departed,
having paid their pence beforehand. The whole ceremony seems to
have been a curious mixture of Buddhism and Shintdism — the people at
various times interposing with "namti amida,1 * which they mumbled
till it sounded like " na-am."
After having spent about two hours on the summit we descended
as fur as the lowest shrine, by the same road that we took in ascending,
but at this point, instead of turning to the right in the direction of the
Murodd, we crossed over the ridge of Jddosan, and entered the valley
called Gozen-dani, which faced nearly S. E. We were informed that
this was the shortest way to Eurobe, which was said to be 2£ ri
distant. Descending first a slope covered with heather, with here and
there large boulders scattered about, we noticed a bright yellow
ranunculus (R. Acris) and specimens of Anemone narcissiflora growing ;
beyond .this slope we came to a talus of loose stones, the descent of
which was difficult and dangerous, for the stones being quite loose,
one might slip and receive a severe fall, or, if below, he might receive
a stone from above. Having got over this difficulty we had next some
fatiguing work, especially when wearing tcaraji, descending the rocky
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46 ATKINSON'. YAT8U-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA.
bed of a very cold mountain stream, succeeded by a descent down a
gentle slope of snow, and again down the river bed till we came to
where a second valley, coming from the left of Jddo-san, joined the
Gozen-dani. This part had taken us two hours, and we had not yet
got half way to Kurobe. From this, we ascended the tributary stream
for some distance, then diverged to the left up a smaller bed, so as
to cross over the ridge separating us from the valley of the Zoragoye,
where we expected to join the shindo. The ascent was very steep,
resembling the ascent to the Murodd from the " Tate-yama baths ; when
near the top we turned away to the left, and entered a jungle', which,
at first level, began to descend rapidly. Climbing through the branches
of the creeping hari note, down fern slopes which treacherously
conceale4 the rough, sharp stones forming the surface of the hill, and
having to force our way through thick masses of bamboo (ne duke),
all the while descending, and having to use the greatest care to avoid
bruises from the sharp stones, formed/ one of the most* difficult tasks
of our journey. After two hours of this trying work — trying both to
constitution and temper — we reached the level of the stream, only to
find the shindo, which we had expected to strike here, far away above
us on the opposite side of the valley. As our guides said that we
could not get down the river, because, as it neared the Kurobe-gawa
it became deep and could not be forded, we were obliged to ascend
the river for about half an hour, till we came to the bridge where the
shindo crosses the river. From this point we ascended to the top
of the Kariyasu-zaka in twenty minutes, and forty-five minutes more
down a zigzag path brought us to* the clean and nice looking little
hotel at Kurobe. We had taken 6J hours to go a distance said to be
2£ to, the time including half an hour for lunch. This village contains
only this house and another on the opposite side of the river, which
is here crossed by a very solidly built bridge. The second house is
of a much lower class. Here we obtained sheets showing the direction
of the shindo, according to which a large number of villages exist
along the road. At present, however, they are each represented by
one, or at most two, log cabins, unoccupied except in one or two
instances.
Starting about 6 o'clock the next morning, we crossed over the
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA. 47
bridge, and passing the second house, made our way under trees up
one of the side valleys opening on the right bank of the Eurobe-gawa,
the road keeping close to the river for a considerable distance, and in
pretty good condition, except in one or two places. After walking for
one hour we came to where the valley opened into a semicircle of huge
crags, rising sheer from the ground for about 1,000 ft. . Beyond this
we passed for three-quarters of an hour through a narrow glen to
the left, and at the end of that time we came to the commencement
of the steepest part of the ascent, from which the dip between
the two mountains on either side of the pass could be seen. An
hour's hard climbing up a zigzag path, with alder trees growing
round about, brought us to the summit, exactly 2£ hours after
leaving Enrobe. The barometer indicated a height of 7,750 feet above
sea level. From the summit a fine view of the deep valleys, with
which the whole of this region is intersected, was obtained. With
the exception of Fuji-san, which appeared S. £. through a dip in two
of the nearer hills, and the ranges of Yatsu-ga-take and Koma-ga-take,
no prominent mountains are visible : the view is confined to the hills of
the range, all about the same height. The mountains on the N. W. of
the pass hid Tate-yama, and to the east nothing could be seen. We
were almost as much favoured with fine weather as up Tate-yama,
although in this case there was not such an extensive view to be
obtained, although in its way it was equally magnificent.
The distances along this route are by no means accurately known,
but considering the rate at which we walked and the time taken
(2f. hours), the summit is probably 2£ ri from Eurobe. Our coolies
took 4 hours. After waiting for them, we started on our descent at 10
o'cloek, and joined a new zigzag path which had been lately made to
replace the old one, which was destroyed in many places. The descent
was very sharp, and we felt impelled to jump down at a much more
rapid pace than we adopted in ascending, although it was a painful
experience from the sharp edges presented by the freshly broken stone.
After one hour and a half of this the road become less steep, though
still stony and difficult, until just before reaching Shirazawa, where it
was comparatively level. The scenery of this valley was very fine ;
here and there we saw patches of snow in the bed of the valley below
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48 ATKINSON : YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE -YAM A.
us and in some of the side ravines, though in no place were we obliged
to touch snow. At one point in crossing over a side stream we passed
between snow, above and below us, but at that point where the path
crossed the stream the snow had disappeared entirely, and in other
parts nothing but a mere shell was left, with deep caverns beneath, and
the water flowing at the bottom. On continuing along the path, we
rose a little and saw that the surface was so completely covered with
debris as entirely to hide the snow.
After walking for 2 J hours from the summit we reached Shirazawa,
which consists of a single hut, in which an old man was living, though
the place boasts of no accommodation for travellers except a few basins
and plates. It is tolerably clean, however, and would be better than
the Murodd to sleep in, if any one thought of commencing the ascent of
the Harinoki toge from that point.
The small quantity of snow found in the valley this year compared
with last year (1878), from the description given by those who visited
it then, is probably partly owing to the very mild winter, although it
is true that we were about three weeks later in the year ; but some
friends, who ascended from Noguchi this year, about a fortnight or
three weeks earlier than we visited it, speak of less snow than was
found by those who visited it last year. On the Shinshiu side of the
pass there were no signs of any violent floods, for the road which had
been destroyed was in the upper part of the valley, high above the
stream, and the injury wag most likely caused by a landslip. It also
appeared that the violent rain we had had in To-yama, and as far as the
Murodd, which had converted the waters on the Etchiu side into raging
torrents, had been quite local.
After lunching at Shirazawa, which is about 8 ri from the summit,
we left for Omachi, three ri further down the valley. The road now
became easy, and crossed a gently sloping plain covered with trees,
chiefly nam, past the Yama-no-kami, where a torii was erected, and
covered with numerous spear heads, offerings to the god of the
mountain. After a walk of 1 hour 25 minutes, we passed through the
upper part of Noguchi, and 15 minutes afterwards, on the opposite side
of the stream, through the lower part, where the principal hotels are. j
Crossing over the plain for three-quarters of an hour we came to
/
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA. 49
Omaehi, a long straight town, with a rather broad, somewhat deep,
gutter running through the main street. At one place we noticed a
water wheel, which the stream was employed to torn.
From Omaehi we proposed to cross over the hills to Uyeda, by a
little known route, instead of taking the more usual road by Ikeda.
Passing out of the lower end of the town, we very soon turned off to
the left from the broader road which passed down the valley, and after
ascending amongst a series of small hills, came to the highest point
between Omaehi and Ai. From this place we obtained a fine view of
the mountains, 65° F. of S., probably the range running northwards
from Asama-yama. We had now left the Hida-Etchiu-Shinshiu range
behind us, and except occasional glimpses from the higher points, we
saw them no more. A winding road, by the side of a small stream
flowing through a narrow, picturesque valley, with, in one part, a series
of magnificent crags, and in another some of those very sharply pointed
hills delighted in by Japanese artists, landed us after two hours more
at Ai, a small village situated near the place where this stream enters
the Sai-gawa. Here we were compelled to wait for 1£ hours before the
coolies who were to carry our baggage were ready. As we were
anxious, if possible, to reach Uyeda that night, we chafed under the
delay/ and under the- fact that the road was so hilly that only coolies
could carry our baggage. We left Ai at 11.10 and walked for a
short distance down by the left bank of the Sai-gawa, through a most
remarkable and beautiful gorge. The rocks of the region were sedi-
mentary, and the whole had been tilted to a pretty high angle, after
which the softer beds had been denuded, leaving the harder ones of
conglomerate standing out as vertical plates. Trees growing in the
nooks and crevices of the rocks made the whole scene very striking
and beautiful.
Near the place where the river bends to the north-west, the road to
Uyeda left the broader road to Senkdji (or Nagano, as it is sometimes
called) and crossed to the other side of the river, then turned up a small
side valley, and ascended the hill on its right bank. After about 1
hour we reached the top of a kind of ridgfc, from which we could see
that the rocks of the different valleys round about were of the same
character as those just described, and it gave a marked peculiarity to
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50 ATKINSON: YATST7-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA.
the view. The highest point of this was called Garimeki-tdge, but
probably that name is given to the whole of the pass between Ai and
Niuma. After going along the ridge, we soon came to a part from
which we could look down into one of the hollows of the pass, for
there were altogether three passes, and which presented the appearance
of a funnel more than any other object. The edges of the projecting
plates of rock had a direction converging towards the bottom of the
valley, so that they appeared like lines radiating from a centre, and
thus produced the funnel like form. A small rivulet flowed through
the bottom of the valley, and escaped between two ribs of the funnel,
the opening not being visible from above. Trees grew in all the clefts
of the rocks, and served to fill up the intervals between the ribs.
From the bottom, the road again rose rapidly to the top of the second
pass, called Naka-t6ge, and again immediately descended to the bottom
of a valley of more 'ordinary character. A third time it rose, this time a
little higher than either of the others, but to this pass the coolies could
give no name. The road then passed down through a narrow, almost
parallel-sided valley, the bottom of which had been converted into a
rice field, but this soon opened out into the larger valley in which Niuma
lies. The river flows over the exposed edges of the beds which form
the valley, and at the lower end escapes through an aperture in one of
the vertical plates which, otherwise, appear to close the valley com-
pletely.
From Niuma a fairly good and level road runs for about 1 n,
to where it joins the main road from Matsumoto to Zenkoji, which, like
most of the main roads in this region, was in a wonderfully good state,
as it had been renewed for the journey of the Mikado last year. After
about three-quarters of a n along this road we came to Honjd, where we
rested, and at 6.80 p.m. we started for our last pass before reaching Uyeda.
Immediately on leaving the village, we turned to the left, and ascended
the Sora-toge, which, although rather long, is by no means steep. Before
reaching the top it was quite dark, and impossible to ascertain the
character of the scenery. From the summit we had three hours good
walking before reaching Urano, where we remained all night.
As nothing of any difficulty now lay between us and Tdkiyd, we
were anxious to return as rapidly as possible, which we did by kuruma
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fa
r
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ATKINSON: YATSU-0A-TAKE) HAKU-8AN, AND TATE-YAMA.
51
from Urano along the Hoknrokudd and Nakasendd to Matsuida, where
we hired a coach to Takasaki, and from that town took another, which
brought ns to Tdkiyd, after 82£ hours continuous travelling. Both
roads have been desoribed before, and so I am relieved from entering
into any particulars concerning the road from Urano to Tdkiyd, except,
perhaps, to refer to the splendid road over the Usui-tdge, which has
recently been made. It is quite possible now to go the whole way in a
wheeled vehicle, and I did so for the most part of the way, only
excepting a short portion near Sakamoto, which I thought to bo rather
too steep to be quite safe.
TABLE H— LIST OP PLANTS COLLECTED.
NAME OP PLANT.
LOCALITIES.
RANUNOULACEJE.
1.
Clematis (?) sp
Shdmaru tdge and elsewhere. Common.
2.
Thaliotrum simplex
Jumonji tdge.
3.
T. tuberiferum
«« ii
4.
Anemone narcissiflora
Mikaburi hara. Jddo-san, Tate-yama.
6.
Trautvetteria palmata
Jumonji tdge.
6.
Ranunculus acris
Jddosan, Tate-yama.
7.
Trollins japonious
Mikabtiri hara.
8.
Coptis brachypetala
Jumonji t6ge.
9.
Aqnilegia glandulosa
ii it
10.
Anemonopsis macrophylla . .
ti ii
11.
Aoonitum Pischeri
Yatsu-ga take. Harinoki tdge.
12.
Cimicifuga simplex. . .... . .
PAPAVERA0EJE.
Haku-san, Tate-yama, and Harinoki tdge.
13.
Pteridophyllnm lacemosum . . . .
Jumonji tdge.
14.
Dioentra pusUla .. .. .. ..
CRUOIFERJE.
Yatsu-ga-take.
15.
Arabis (?) sp
Between Ochiai and Haramnra, Ohiku-
ma-gawa valley.
VIOLAOE-ffi.
16
Viola biflora , .
Yatsu-ga-take.
CARYOPHYLLACEiE.
17.
Dianthus superbus
Ochiai hara, and elsewhere. Common.
18.
D. (?)sp
Harinoki tdge.
19.
Cucubalus baceif eras var. Japonicus
Near Oppara (Hida) . Also near Ai (Shin-
shiu).
Jumonji tdge.
20.
Lychnis miqueliana
HYPERIOINE2B.
21.
Hypericum Ascyron *
Ochiai (Shinshiu).
OEBANIAGEA.
*
22.
Geranium sibirioum
Ochiai (Shinshiu). Common in valley-
-plains.
23.
Impatiens noli-tangere
Jumonji tdge. Mikaburi tdge.
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52 ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA.
TABLE H.— LIST OF PLANTS COLLECTED (Continued).
NAME OF PLANT.
LOCALITIES.
LEGUMINOBjE.
24.
Lathyrus Tanaka?
ROSACEA.
Jumonji tdge.
?5
Spinea calloBft . . • * r * - ♦ -,-,
i« <i
26.
Fragaria vesca
Ojira-kawa valley, at the side of snow-
*
slopes.
27.
Potentilla chinensis
Oehiai (Shinshiu).
28.
Agrimonia viscidula, var. Japon . .
* SAXIFRAGAOEai.
it ii
29.
Astilbe chinensis, var. Japonioa , .
Oehiai (Shinshiu).
80.
Saxifraga oortusnfolia
Side of gorge on Shindd between Shinshiu
and Mino. Also on Haku-san.
81.
S. tellimoides
Mikaburi t6ge, Haku-san, and Tate-yama.
82.
S. fusea
Harinoki t6ge.
88.
Tiarella polyphylla
Jumonji tdge.
Tate-yama .baths and Murodd.
84.
Parnassia palustris
85.
P. , foliosa
Valley between Yumoto and Ushikubi,
Kaga.
Shdmaru tdge.
86.
Deinanthe bifida
0BA8SULAGEJE.
87
Sedum ateoon » » » T r * - - • *
Oehiai (Shinshiu).
TiYTHKARTRA.
88.
Lythrum virgatum
ONAGRARUE.
Ushikubi (Kaga).
89.
Epilobium affine
Oehiai.
40.
E. gpicatum
ii
41.
Oircwa alpina • . • . . . • . • .
Jumonji tdge.
UMBELLIFERiE.
42.
Bupleurum sachalinense • • • .
OORNAOEJ3.
Jumonji tdge.
48.
Cornufl canadengjfl
RUBIACEJE.
Jumonji, Mikaburjtdge, Haku-san, Tate-
yama.
44.
Galium obovatum • ..
VALERIANEJS.
Harinoki tdge.
45.
Patrinia soabios»folia
Shindd between Shinshiu and Mino.
46.
P. palmata
COMPOSITE.
Jumonji tdge.
47.
Seneoio Krameri
Jumonji tdge.
48.
S. nikoensis » . .
Oehiai (Shinshiu).
49.
S. flftw*T"flnE
- it ii
50.
Pertya scandens
CAMPANTJLAOEiE.
Jumonji tdge.
51.
Campanula punctata .... ..
Oehiai ( Shinshiu} and other places*
Oehiai (Shinshiuj, and other plains.
52.
Platycodon gzandiflorum . .
58.
Phyteuina Japonicum .. .. ,.
Oehiai (Mnsashi), Umi-no-kuchi, and
other places.
Many places. Common.
54.
Adenophora verticillata.
ERICAGEJE.
55.
Gaultheria pyroloides
Yatsu-ga-takc.
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ATKINSON: YATSU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-YAMA. 68
TABLE H— LIST OP PLANTS COLLECTED (Continued).
NAME OF PLANT.
LOCALITIES.
56.
Phyllodoce taxi! olia
Murodd (Haku-san].
Mikabnri tdge. Jumonji tdge.
57.
Tripetaleia paniculate
56.
T. bracteata
Harinoki t6ge.
59.
Pyrola rotundifolia
Mikabnri tdge.
GO.
Vaccinium (?)sp
Gozen dani (Tate-yama). Mikabnri t6ge.
61.
Rhododendron (?) sp
Shindd from Odaki to Chikechi. Yatsu-
ga-take.
62.
Monotropa uniflora
DIAPENSIAC&fi.
Jumonji toge.
63.
Diapensia lapponica
Tatsu-ga-take.
64.
Sohizooodon Boldanelloides . . . .
EjRIMULAOEJE.
Murodd on Haku-aan.
65.
Primula (?)sp. . • • • . t . » * T
Jumonji tdge, Haku-san, and Tateyama.
Kaware.
66.
<« it
67.
Lymmachia vulgaris
Ochiai (Shinshiu), and in other plains.
68.
Trientalis europea
STYBACACEiE.
Jumonji tdge; Mikabnri tdge, near
Honzawa.
69.
Pterostyrax corymbosum • • • .
Ochiai (Shinshiu).
ASGLEPIADEfi.
70.
Endotropis caudate
GBNTIANACEJE.
Ochiai (Shinshiu).
71.
Gentiana thunbergh*
Murodd on Haku-san
73.
G. (?) BP
Murodd on Tate-yama.
Harinoki tdge.
73.
Ophelia bimaculate
74.
VillarsiacriBte-galli..
CYBTANDRACE.fi .
Murodd on* Haku-san and Tate-yama.
Also on tdge between Kaware and
Oppara (Hida).
75.
Conandron ramondioides . . . .
BOBAGINEfi.
Tatsu-ga-take.
76.
Lithospennum exythrorhizon
Shindd between Odaki and Chikechi.
77.
Omphalodes Krameri
Jumonji tdge.
78.
Sehrophularia alata
Jumonji tdge. Also tdge between Nara-
dani and Eurodani, Hida.
79.
Veronica virginica
Ochiai (Shinshiu), and other plains.
80.
V. oana
Jumonji tdge.
81.
V. (?)Bp
Shindd between Odaki and Chikechi.
82.
Euphrasia officinalis • . • • . •
Pedicularis japonica
Tumoto (Tate-yama).
83.
Mikabnri tdge.*
84.
P. resupinata
Murodd (Tate-yama). Jumonji tdge.
Jumonji tdge.
86.
Melampyrum laxum
OBOBANCHAOEfi.
86.
Aeginetia indica' .. .. .. ..
LABIATB.fi.
In a plantation near Eurosu (Musashi).
87.
Thymus serpyllum
Shindd between Shinshiu and Mino.
88.
Diacoeephalum Buyschiana . •
Ochiai (Shinshiu).
FHYTOLACCAOE.fi .
-
89.
Phytolacca acinosa
Hanrid (Musashi).
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54 ATKINSON : YATBU-GA-TAKE, HAKU-SAN, AND TATE-TAMA.
TABLE n.-LIST OF PLANTS COLLECTED (Continued).
NAME OF PLANT.
LOCALITIES.
POLYGONAOE^S.
90.
Polygonum bietorta
Murodd on Haku-san.
91
P. tbunbergii
Valley of the Arakawa, near Ochiai
(Musashi).
92.
P. suffultum
Jumonji tdge.
EUPHORBIACE^S.
93.
Euphorbia lasiocaula
ORCHID ACE.E.
Shindd between Shinshiu and Mino.
94.
Gymnadenia (?) sp
Jumonji t6ge.
95.
Platanthera hologlottis
Ochiai (Shinshiu). Jumonji tdge.
%
P. japonica
(i
97,
P. oreades
" also Murodd on Hakusan.
98.
Habenaria sp. (?)
Shindd between Shinshiu and Mino.
99.
Epipaotis gigantea
Shdmaru tdge.
100.
(?) Ephippianthus sachalinensis . .
LRrDACE-E.
Jumonji tdge.
101.
Pardanthus chinensis
AMARYLLIDACEJE .
Mikaburi tdge.
1091
Lyooris ratfiata
Okada mura (Etchiu).
DIOSCORE^J.
103.
Diosoorea Bativa
smtlace^e.
Mikaburi tdge and elsewhere.
104.
Smilacina bifolia
LIUACEJE.
Alder plantation between Tate-yama and
Kurobe.
105.
FritiUaria kamschatcensis .. ..
Murodd on Haku-san.
106.
Lilium medeoloidos
Jumonji tdge.
107.
Tricyrtis latifolia
ophiopogone^:.
Gombei tdge, Kurozawa, and Garimeki
tdge.
108.
Ophiopogon spicatus
MELANTHACEiE.
Ochiai (Chichibu).
109.
Metanarthecium luteoviride
Mikaburi no hara.
110.
Veratrum nigrum
Near Oppara in Hida.
111.
V. album
[Murodd on Haku-san and Tate-yama,
j and on Harinoki tdge.
112.
V. Btamineum -
JUNCACEiE.
113.
Juncus sp- (?)
LYCOPODIACEJE.
Jddo Ban ; Tate-yama.
114.
Lycopodium clavatum
Mikaburi tdge.
Note. — The above list does not include the whole of the species seen in flower ;
such plants as are commonly distributed over the country were not collected. This
will explain the shortness of the lists of the natural orders, Leguminosro,
Rosace®, and Composite, whicj}, however, were represented by large numbers of
well-known flowers.
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*+
»
«■ Jfm^twm
te
16
16
ID
I
•1
it
l-
d
le
to
to
d
a
IB
n
to
e1
d
d
if
g
B
t»
o
a
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54
90.
Po!
91.
P.
92.
P.
93.
En
94.
Gy
95.
Pla
96.
P.
97.
P.
98.
Ha
99.
Ep
100.
»:
101.
Pa
102.
Ly
103.
Di<
104.
Sir
105.
Fri
106.
Lil
107.
Tr
108. Op
109. Me
110. Vet
111. V.
112. V-
113. Jul
114. Ly
Nor*
such plai:
will ex pi
well-kn<r*
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( 55 )
DISCUSSION.
Mr. W. N. Whitney said : " Haku-san, I believe, now belongs to the province
of Eaga, but was formerly claimed by the daimiyo of the three provinces on whose
borders it was situated. The dispute, I have heard, was settled at last by the
government at Tedo, to whom the daimiyd of Eaga applied. It is said that npon
presenting himself at the Shogun's court, the representative of Mayeda said, * I
have come concerning the matter of the ownership of Hakn-san in Eaga ' — upon
which he was told, that if Hakn-san was in Eaga there could be no dispute about
it. In the public gardens of Eanazawa there is a well or pond called Kanazawa-
no-ike, in which a dragon is supposed to dwell, and which is said to be connected
with Haku-san by a subterranean passage some . eighteen ri in length. These '
gardens are well worth a visit, as much money has been spent on them by the
former daimiyd of Eaga, who were considered the wealthiest in Japan. They are
situated near the end of a ridge called dyama (big mountain) and are noted
for their beautiful scenery. In the gardens are two lakes, a waterfall and a
fountain, all supplied with water brought along the ridge from the Saigawa, some
four miles above the town. The view from here is fine indeed, especially in
spring, when the plum and cherry trees are in bloom, and the mountains are
capped with snow. On one side a broad plain stretches out to the sea, on the*
other tall peaks touch the sky, while away to the north a lake, low foot-hills, and
the high mountains of Etchiu and Noto complete the view. The temple called
Daijdji, the castle and Mukd-yama, are all places of interest. From the top of
Mukd-yama, the view is a grand one, especially at sunset, as the sun is sinking
into the sea, when the plain from the town below, the castle and the mountains
in the back-ground assume a peculiarly weird aspect. Just outside of the town,
near the road to the shore, lies the famous Benkei-ishi, a huge boulder said to
have been drawn thither by Benkei, the robber-priest of Hiyeizan. It weighs
many tons, and is quite unlike any rook within miles of its present resting place.
Not far from here is Eahoku, a lake covering many thousand acres, which a certain
Zenya Gombei wished to fill up, that he might use the land for agricultural
purposes. In order to destroy the namazu that undermined the banks, he caused
large quantities of lime to be thrown into the lake. This, however, killed the
other fishes too, which, being collected and sold by the fishermen to the poor
farmers about, caused many deaths. For this Zenya was thrown into prison, and
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his property confiscated : shortly after he died and his body was crucified at
Eanaiwa. This Zenya was the richest man in Japan, and it is said was the first
to establish foreign trade at Takeshima."
Mr. W. G. Dixon said that he could add little to the information contained in
Professor Atkinson's exhaustive paper. Quite recently, however, he had, through
the kindness of a Japanese gentleman, learned a few facts that might be
interesting. Very well-deserved praise had been given to Dashiwara-dani. It
formed an exaxrple of savage grandeur such as was only occasionally met with
in this land of picturesque, but generally soft, scenery. To the magnificent
castellated cliffs that towered above this glen, the suggestive name of Oni-ga-shiro
(The Devil's Castle) had been given. In regard to the view from the Hari-no-ki-
t6ge, it should be mentioned that the jagged peak that serrated the middle of
the southern horizon was Yari-ga-take, a mountain remarkable both on account
of its extreme steepness and from the fact* that it had been found, by a foreign
gentleman who had ascended it, to reach a height of about 10,OQO feet, thus
rivalling Ontake-san for the second place in altitude among the mountains of
Japan. The darkly wooded eminence behind which Yari-ga-take was from the
pass seen to rise, was vested with a certain tragic interest. It was related that
about the time of Taikd, a warrior named Sasa Narjmasa, while fleeing from
Shinshiu to avoid the pursuit of his enemies, here perished of hunger, with all his
family. The speaker had also been informed that Omachi was only 10 ri distant
from Shinonai on the Hokurokudd, a place about 10 ri on the Zenkdji side of
Uyeda. The route from Omachi to Uyeda, viA this place, might form an alter-
native to that described in the paper as having been followed between these towns.
Mr. Marshall remarked that last summer he had, in company with the
Chairman, himself gone over parts of the ground just described. The shindS
' which leads from Omachi in Shinshiu to Hara in Etchiu, was, only three weeks
before Messrs. Atkinson and Dixon traversed it, covered in many places with
snow. Before reaching the summit of Hari-no-ki-tdge from Omachi, they had to
cross 10 or 11 great snow-fields, and this, added to the enormous height to be
ascended and the fact that the road was greatly torn up by last winter's storms,
made the ascent both laborious and dangerous.
Mr. Marshall desired to add a' few remarks about a village in this region called
Arimine. He said: " A writer in the Yokohama Herald mentioned that last year
he had heard at the hot springs at the base of Tate-yama that this village was
inhabited by a very exclusive people, who did not even trade with other people
and were ignorant of the use of money ; who intermarried only amongst themselves
and in consequence had great similarity of features and limited intellect. At
Higashi Mozumi, in the valley of the Takara-gawa, we were further told by an
apparently intelligent miner who had visited Arimine with a friend, that the
people were really very peculiar, would not speak to strangers or give them food,
ware evidently exceedingly stupid, and had great similarity of features. In order
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to visit this Tillage we left the valley of the Takara-gawa at Domura (1 ri from
Higashi Mozumi) and thence travelled up the valley of the Atotsu-gawa. The
following is the route from Domura-. —
JK.
Domura .*.'.. 0
Nakamura 1
Sakomura OJ
Odawa 04
Arimine 8 J
At Sakomura we procured a guide. From Odawa there is nothing but a
woodman's track to the solitary, village, and as torrents require frequently to bo
crossed and for short distances ascended, it would be quite impossible to go
without a guide. The track is through a grand mountain forest. Unfortunately
it thunders and rains every day in this region, and this somewhat mars what is other-
wise a very interesting trip. The village consists of 13 houses, scattered over a
beautiful green plateau, and must be, I think, about 5,000 feet above the sea level.
The people we found to be just like those of other villages. They were very
polite, but, as we expected, said that they could not afford to give us any food.
However, on my assuring the head man that we had brought food with us, he
welcomed us into his house. Each house seemed to have one horse at least, and
from the good treatment they apparently received and the number of pictures of
horses we saw at the miya and in the houses, we concluded that the horse must
be here either a pet animal or held in great veneration. Our host told us that
they had no bedding,' and so we had to sleep with coarse matting both about and
below us and with a lump of wood for a pillow. Before we started next morning
all the people came on our invitation in groups to see us — men, women, and
children, and we could detect neither signs of idiocy nor striking similarity of-
features. We also learned very decidedly that they knew both how to trade and the
use of money. Their principal export is the bark of trees. They grow all their
own food and live principally on hiye (a kind of millet) and coarse vegetables.
They also drank coarse tea and Bmoked very inferior tobacco. The bowls of their
tobacco pipes were much larger than the ordinary Japanese pipes, and were similar
flb those used by the Coreans in the late embassy. Although very poor they all
seemed quite happy, and although we were the only foreigners they had seen,
even the children showed no signs of fear and accepted some biscuit we gave
them." ' .
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( 58
PROPOSED ARRANGEMENT 'OF THE KOREAN
ALPHABET.
By W. (?. Aston.
[Read November Ufa, 1879.]
The order in which the letters of the Korean alphabet are arranged
in the existing authorities is extremely irregular and inconvenient, and
I believe that the arrangement suggested below, which is based on
an examination of the system on which they appear to have been
constructed, will be found more advantageous in several respects. At
this early stage of the, study of Korean, it may still be time to introduce
a more systematic order without prejudice to the convenience of other
students of this language, who can hardly have yet committed them-
selves to the arrangement hitherto adopted. A vocabulary of Korean on
which I am now engaged will be .arranged according to this system.
KOREAN ALPHABET.
VOWELS.
1- *r i ^ ~ *L\
a, y», &, yii, o, yo.
T -ir I — *
u, yu, i, eu,. a^
(Bases ] «_ » )
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ASTON: KOREAN ALPHABET. 69
DIPHTHONGS.
H i) °)
a, e\ ' a.
CONSONANTS.
Labials ti 3£ P (Base 13)
p, ph, m.
Dentals C t U S (Base L.)
t, th, n, 1.
Palatals Z> % /% (Base <*»)
eh, chh, * s.
Gutturals 1 ^ (Base T)
k, kh.
Laryngeals (?) ff 0 (Base 0)
h, ng final.
The above arrangement makes it clear that the inventor of the
alphabet had classified the sounds of the language according to the
organs of speech by which they are formed. A common element (which
I have called the base) is traceable through all the letters of each class,
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60 ASTON : KOREAN ALPHABET.
the Labial base being a square, the Dental base an angle opening to the
right and upward, and so on. The inventor has subdivided) rightly,
as I think, into two classes those letters which are usually included in
the common term gutturals.
The above pronunciation is merely provisional.
0 at the beginning of a word represents the spiritus lenis, and is
not reckoned a letter. Possibly it might be preferable to do so, writing
it thus '.
The Diphthongs follow the order of the letters of which they are
composed.
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( CI )
NOTES ON STONE IMPLEMENTS FROM OTARU AND
HAKODATE, WITH A FEW GENERAL REMARKS
ON THE PREHISTORIC REMAINS OF JAPAN.
By John Milne.
[Read November 11, 1879.]
PART L— PREHISTORIC REMAINS FROM OTARU AND
HAKODATE.
In a paper on the "Stone Age in Japan," read before the
British Association in 1879, I made reference to several localities
in Yezo, where stone implements and other relics which are of
interest to those studying the early history of this ' country had
been found. From what was there stated it would seem that stone
implements and other spoor of the aboriginal inhabitants of Japan are
to be found from Kiushiu in the south, to Yezo in the north. From
an examination of the collections which I have made, together with
several which have been made by others, it would appear that the
relics are most abundant in the north. Should this Conclusion be a
true one, it it a fact of considerable importance. In the paper to
which I have just referred, I endeavoured to shew that the people who
left this spoor were the Ainos. Now the Ainos still inhabit Yezo, and
we know from history that at one time they probably covered Nipon, and
they were driven back towards the north by the Japanese advancing
from the south. In fact their history and present geographical position
is such that we appear to be safe in assuming that the Ainos have
lived for a longer period in Yezo than they have in Nipon. This, then,
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62 MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS.
being the case, in those parts of Japan which have only been temporarily
inhabited by the Ainos and also have only been inhabited for a
comparatively short period, we ought not to expect to find so many
traces of their former presence as we should in a country which had
been inhabited for a longer period, by large numbers, and by a people
who continued to manufacture stone implements until quite recent
times. Generally speaking, it would seem that the number of relics
of a barbarous age in any civilized country, will, amongst other
conditions, very largely depend upon the number of years which
separate that age from its present civilized condition. A conclusion
which we therefore come to is, that the distribution of stone implements
in Japan accords with what we should anticipate from our knowledge
of the distribution of the Ainos, and therefore I think we may accept
this distribution, amongst the other evidence which I have previously
adduced, as being another proof that these relics are the spoor of Ainos,
and not of a pre-Aino people as has been suggested.
The following notes on the collections which I made this year at
Otaru and Hakodate, when contrasted with the remarks which I have
previously made, or which have been made by others upon collections
from localities further south, will, I think, help to' bear out these
conclusions.
OTARU.
9
Otaru is the largest town on the west coast of Yezo. It is built
along the shore of a small bight on the southern side of Ishikari Bay.
In a north-eastern direction this opens towards the mainland. On the
north-western side it is sheltered from the open ocean by a rocky
point. On this latter side it is overlooked by high cliffs, which are
separated from the water's edge by a narrow shore, ^.t the head of
the bight there is a shelving sandy shore, which slopes backwards into
an undulating grassy country, which a mile or so farther back rises up
to form high hills. Although Otaru is by no means a naturally perfect
harbour, its bay forms one of the best shelters on this coast, and it is no
doubt to this fact that Otaru owes its present importance. And just as
Otaru is important at the present day, we might argue that for similar
reasons its natural advantages would, to a fishing population, render
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MILNE ! PREHISTORIC REMAINS. G8
it important in times gone by ; and that such has been the case may be
judged of by the relies which its early inhabitants have left behind
them. These relics may be divided into three classes : — 1st, Collections
of Pits ; 2nd, Inscriptions ; 8rd, Mounds and Kitchen Middens.
I.— Pits.
The pits are more or less conicaliy shaped holes, about eight feet in
diameter and three feet in depth. In some cases it is possible that these
pits were originally rectangular, and that their present conical form is
due to the falling in of their sides. Lying at the side of them, and
forming a kind of breastwork, there is usually a mound or ridge. These
ridges may have been made by the earth which was thrown out during the
excavation of the pits. The holes which I examined formed a group
near to the foot of the steep hills, about three-quarters of a mile back
from the shore. At the time of my visit to them the ground was so
thickly covered with ferns and tall grass that it was impossible to
determine whether there was any plan in their general arrangement. I
may, however, mention that Mr. Fukushi, a Japanese gentleman who
accompanied me, told me that when he first saw these holes, which was
by looking down upon them from the hills above, a certain regularity in
their arrangement was observable. From one or two of the mounds the
covering of grass had been removed for agricultural purposes. These
places I carefully examined for traces of former inhabitants, but without
success.
In my previous paper on this subject I referred to the ancient pit
dwellings which are to be seen near Nemoro, and at other places in
Yezo. Such pits are said to exist near Sapporo, and the people who are
. supposed to have inhabited them are said by the Japanesft to have been a
race of dwarfs whom they called Koshito, I have suggested that the pit
dwellers are probably represented at the present day by the Kamscha-
dales or Alutes, who until recently lived in covered pits as far south
as the northern Euriles. Whether these pits are similar to those which
have been found farther to the north yet needs demonstration. From
the little which I saw of them, notwithstanding the tradition which is
associated with them of their having formerly been inhabited, I should
be inclined to think that they are nothing more than holes which have
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64 MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS.
been made during farming processes. Perhaps they are the holes from
-which the stumps of trees have been removed. I may here remark that
between the hills at the back of Otaru and the shore the country is
destitute of large trees. Similar treeless bands of country are to be
observed at many places along this coast, as for instance at Kayonoma.
Whether this absence of trees is due to the soil, the proximity to the
sea, or their removal by previous inhabitants, without making a detailed
examination it would be difficult to decide. Here and there, however,
we may observe a small grove, and it is quite possible that such a grove
may have existed where we now find the pits behind Otaru. If such
has been the case, the holes which we see may indicate the position
of stumps which have been rooted out, either by the farmers when
clearing the ground, or else by the inhabitants whilst searching for
fire-wood.
II.-1— Inscriptions.
A rough sketch of the inscriptions which I saw at Otaru is given
on the accompanying plate. They are roughly cut upon the face of the
cliffs on the north-western side of the bay. These cliffs are about 100
feet in height and are capped with small trees. The rock is a white,
extremely soft, much decomposed tuff. It is now being quarried as a
building stone, and during the process a portion of the inscription of
which I have here given a rough copy has been broken away. If the
quarrying continues in the direction it was taking when I visited the
spot, it is not at all unlikely that the whole of these inscriptions will be
very shortly destroyed. The characters look as if they had been
scraped or cut with some incisive tool. I do not think that it would be
difficult to make similar markings with a stone axe. The lines forming
the characters are usually about one inch broad and half an inch deep.
They occupy a strip of rock about eight feet long and they are situated
three or four feet from the ground. Above them the cliff considerably
overhangs, and its form is very suggestive of its having once been
more or less cave-like. This portion of the rock has been very much
blackened by the action of smoke and fire. An appearance of this sort
may have been caused quite recently, by persons engaged in boiling
down fish during the manufacture of oil. So far as I could learn, the
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MILNE : PBEHISTOBIC REMAINS. 65
Japanese are quite unable to recognize any of the characters, and they
regard them as being the work of the Ainos.
I may remark that several of the characters are like the runic m.
It has been suggested that they have a resemblance to old Chinese.
A second suggestion was that they might be drawings of the insignia of
rank carried by certain priests. A third idea was that they were
phallic. A fourth that they were rough representations of men and
animals, the runic m being a bird ; and a fifth that they were the
handicraft of some gentleman desirous of imposing upon the credulity'
of wandering archaBologists.
I myself am inclined to think that they were the work of the people
who have left so many traces of themselves in. the shape of kitchen
middens and various implements in this locality. In this case they
may be Aino.
111. — Mounds and Kitchen Middens.
On the flat ground immediately at the head of the bay, in amongst
the gardens of that portion of Otaru called Temiya, at a distance of
about 80 yards from the beach, there are two or three small mounds
overgrown with grass. One of these was conical in form. It was
about eight feet in height and from 25 to 80 feet in diameter. On
cutting into it I found that it was made of a sandy, black soil,
distributed through which there were many fragments of pottery and
flakes of obsidian. Now and then I met with an arrow-head or a
broken axe. After digging into the heap for a depth of about three
feet, a layer of large stones, covered with a whitish clayey material, was
met with. From the arrangement of these stones it seemed possible
that they might form the cover to .the central portion o£ the heap.
* Want of time prevented my completing this investigation. In the
neighborhood of these mounds, cuttings for roads and gardens shew
many small sections. Near the surface, for a depth of six inches
or a foot, there is usually a layer of black earth. Beneath this comes
a dark-grey sandy soil. Sticking out from these sections, at depths
varying between a few inches and two or three feet, at very many
places fragments of pottery and flakes of stone are to be seen.
Here and there a small band of shells can be seen. From the
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66 MILNE r PREHISTORIC REMAINS.
manner in which these shells have been opened and broken, and from
the broken pottery and stone which are mixed in with them, these
bands evidently indicate so many old middens.
In two visits to this place, entailing about six hours actual work,
at which I was assisted by two coolies and about a dozen children, I
made the following collection : —
Arrow Heads :
Triangular / 65\
Lancet 49[
Leaf and spear-like 15[
Incurved base 6/
Scrapers 8
Awls... 1
Axes 9
Grinding-stone 1
Obsidian Flakes, a large number, say 200 or 800
Fragments of Pottery, a large number, say 100 or 200
Vase 1
Triangular Arrow-heads. (See I. — 1 7-23. )l
These are arrow-heads which are all roughly triangular in their
general form. They usually vary in their lengths and breadths from one
inch by half an inch, down to half an inch by one-quarter of an inch.
All of them are provided with a central tang. Of the 65 having this form
which were discovered, 64 of them are made from obsidian and one
from chalcedony. The obsidian is usually translucent, but in one or
two instances it approaches a pitch stone in its characters. In some
cases the tang is so long and broad that it approaches in form to the
blade of which it forms a part. The general form of arrow-head of this
shape is that of two triangles placed base to base.
Lancet-shaped Arrow-heads. (See I. — 12-16.)
The material of which these lancet-shaped arrow-heads are formed
is similar to that of which the arrow-tips just described axe formed.
Amongst the 49 specimens which were picked up there are one or two
1 These numbers refer to the photographs.
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J- miint /«r jy.
1 '♦ ^ " >J5 /^ <° ' ;1
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If
Amox
*Tht
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MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS. 67
which are made from chert, the remainder being of obsidian. They are
all roughly chipped. An average measurement for one of these tips
is an inch and a quarter long and half an inch broad. A few specimens
are like the double triangular form much elongated. The greater
Dumber, however, have only the lancet blade with a small tang at the
base. It may be remarked that these forms and those which have
just been described graduate into each other. (See I. — 12-23.)
Leaf and Spear-like Forms, (See I. — 5-8. )
These are all so much broken that it is difficult to say what their
original dimensions may have been. Of the 15 of these which were
collected, Id are formed from obsidian and two of chert.
Triangular Forms with a reentrant Curved Base. (See I. — 9-11. J
Of these, six were found. They are made from obsidian. The
reentrant curved base forms two lateral tangs. The general form of the
ff remainder of the blade is either lancet-shaped or else triangular, with
carved cutting edges. The length and breadth of an average specimen
might be reckoned at three-quarters of an inch by half an inch.
Scrapers. (See I. — 1-3.)
These are about one inch long, having a curved scraping edge
about one inch broad. Of these three were collected; One of them
was made of chert, one of obsidian, and one of jasper.
Awl. (See I.—4.)
This is a pointed instrument made from roughly chipped chert. Its
total length is about 2J inches, the pointed portion, which is roughly
rounded, being about l£ inches.
Axes. (See I.— 24-29).
Of these, nine were collected. All- may be described as being
polished implements, and their smooth rubbed surface strongly
contrasts with the roughly chipped implements made from obsidian and
chert. This smooth surface, however, must not be regarded as* being
an evidence Qf advance towards a civilized condition, the reason for the
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68 MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS.
smoothness probably being that the axes, through being formed out of a
soft material, would continually require to be reground and sharpened.
In seven cases the material appears to be a fine-grained, dark- green,
partially metamorphosed slate. In the remaining two cases the material
is an altered andesite, a common volcanic rock in Japan.
Two of these implements (see I. — 24 and 25) may be described as
pieces of slate one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch in thickness, and 1£
inches broad, which at one end have been sharpened from the two sides
to form a cutting edge. The others, instead of being fiat, have surfaces
which are rounded'. Their general form is that of a long isosceles
triangle, with a rounded apex, and a base which is usually convex, to
form a cutting edge. A common length for these axes is about five
inches.
Looking at the lateral edges or faces of several of these specimens,
the remains of two grooves cut in towards each other from the sides
may be often seen (see I. — 24 and III. — 18). The intervening portion
shews a fractured surface. These markings would suggest that these %
chisels had been formed by first cutting a strip off from a large slab, two
grooves being cut into the slab from opposite sides, and the strip thus
marked being subsequently broken off.
Grinding-ttone. (See 7. — 6. )
This is a rough piece of weathered andesite 4£ inches long, 8£
inches broad and about 2£ inches deep. On three sides it has been
abraded to form deep concave surfaces, and from the manner in which
these surfaces fit the concave surfaces of an ordinary axe, it may be
inferred that such a stone has been employed for sharpening these
implements, which, from their softtoature, must have been repeatedly
required. .
Cfvips.
Of obsidian flakes a very large number were picked! up* From a hand-
ful of 49 taken up at random, three were of chert, the remainder being
of obsidian. They are usually thick and irregular. Of long thin flakes
only four were picked up, and the largest of these had only a length of
24 inches.
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MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS. 69
Pottery. (See IL— 1-15 and V.—l.)
A large number of fragments of pottery were collected, all of which
shewed characters, similar to those which I have .previously described.
Nearly all the specimens are covered with the characteristic grained
marking which I have suggested might have been made either by means
of a coarse cloth whilst the clay was soft or else by means of some
milling machine. In some cases these markings are coarse and in
others fine. (See II. — 1-8). From the manner in which I now observe
that this graining is often worked in between incised lines, as a sort of
filling up, I see that in such cases it could not have been formed by a
cloth or wicker-work, which would have given rise to a more or less
connected pattern over the whole vessel.
The incised lines (II. — 5-7) are coarsely made and usually repre- •
sent some rude design.
Other designs worked as raised patterns have been formed by
strings of clay. In many cases the inside of the pottery is very black.
This is probably due to some fatty carbonaceous material having been
burnt in the interior of these vessels during cooking operations. •
Besides the fragments of pottery, a complete vase, shaped like an
earthenware water-bottle, was obtained from a man who discovered it
whilst cutting a road. (See V. — 1.) It is very rudely shaped, and the
base, which is three inches in diameter, is so irregular that it can only
stand upon it in an inclined position. The height is nine inches, and
the neck has a diameter of two inches. On the sides of the latter there
are two small eyelet holes, through which a string might be passed.
These holes appear to have been made whilst the clay was in a moist
condition. Inside and outside it is of a dirty, yellowish red colour.
The body of the vase is covered with smill punctures, giving its surface
a grained appearance. These punctures run in lines of two and three,
one set of lines often intersecting another set. On one side there are
two small holos made by the pick* of the discoverer.
Tho clay from which it is formed, like the clay which has been
used for the other pottery, contains many small grains of sand, with
here and there a pebble.
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70 MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS.
Kitchen Middens,
These I bad dot time to examine closely. The following shells
were exceedingly common : — Haliotis kamtschatkama, Modiola modiolus,
and Saxodomus purpuratus There were also many fragments of pottery
and flakes of obsidian.
* HAKODATE.
When I Visited Hakodate daring the snmmer of 1878, I had the
good fortune to discover a shell-heap which subsequently yielded a
number of objects of interest to several explorers. The flint implements,
pottery, etc., which I myself exhumed have already been described.
Since this time, whilst making some public gardens and cutting roads,
a number of excavations have been made which have led to the discovery
.of a large quantity of prehistoric material, some of which I have been
able to obtain.
Arrow-heads. (See III.— 10.)
The general appearance of the arrow-heads which have been found
in and about Hakodate is similar to that of those which have be*en found
near Otaru. There are two points, however, which are worthy of
notice. First, the material of which the Hakodate arrow-heads are
made, instead of being almost invariably obsidian, is almost always
flint or chert, and arrow-points made from obsidian are extremely
rare. Secondly, arrow-heads with a base which is reentrant appear to
be more common at Hakodate than they are at Otaru.
Spear-heads. (IV.— 5-11.)
These, like the arrow-points, are usually made from flint or chert.
Their average length is three or four inches, and their breadth one and
a half to two inches. They are thick and very coarsely chipped. In
many instances they shew that peculiar gloss which is indicative of
age. The depth at which they are found, which is usually several feet
from the surface, appears to be another indication of their antiquity. I
have only seen two examples which have been at all finely worked. One
of these is a spear-head made from chert. It has a lance-like form, and
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MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS. 71
is seven inches long and one and a half inches broad. The other is a
double-pointed head, also made from chert, measuring four inches by
one inch and a quarter. (See III. — 4 and 5.)
Knives. (See 111.-6-9 and IV.— 12-17.)
These are implements which are made from chert. Tney have
often a scimitar-like form, with two sharp edges — one concave and the
other convex. At the base there is sometimes a tang, whilst at the head
there is either a point formed by the meeting of the two scimitar-like
edges or else it is cut off squarely. (See III. — 6 and 8).
If an implement like any of these were fixed in a short handle,
it would be extremely useful in detaching from their coverings oysters
and other shell-fish on which these early people seem so largely to have
subsisted.
Because their form is so suggestive of a use like this, I have
ventured to call them knives.
Axes or Chisels. (Ill— 2, 3 and 13. IV.— 19 and 20. J
. These are very similar to those from Otaru. Amongst them there
is one specimen which is remarkable for its size, being rather more than
15£ inches in length. (EEL — 18.) This I described in my previous
paper on this subject.
One or two examples have only been sharpened from one side, which
gives them "an edge like that of a carpenter's plane, {For an edge view
of such a chisel see III. — 8. )
•
Magatama. (HI. — 11.)
In the Hakodate museum there are two Magatama which are said-
to have been obtained from the Ainos. One of them is made from hard,
green jasper and the other from chalcedony. The hole which has been
made through the latter seems to have been made by means of a rhymer.
Magatama, so far as I am aware, do not ever appear to have been-
found in shell-heaps, and it appears very probable that they were
only introduced amongst the Ainos since their acquaintance with the
Japanese. <
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72 MILNE I PREHISTORIC REMAINS.
Kudatama. ( III. —12.)
With the Magatama there are two Kudatama. The longest of them
is one inch and the other is half an inch. The material of which they
are formed is green jasper. The hole which runs through them length-
wise has probably been made with a metal tool. Like the Magatama,
they were used as ornaments. These specimens were obtained from the
Ainos, who, it is probable, had previously obtained them from the
Japanese.
Pottery. (IV.— 1-4. Y.—2 and S.)
The pottery which has been found at Hakodate is very similar to
that which has been found at Otaru. One difference, however, is that
the former looks more worn and somewhat older. I may also remark
that in the few instances where I have observed holes, these appear to
have been made by means of a rhymer after the pot had been baked.
(See IV. — 2.) In the Hakodate Museum there are two small vases
which are almost complete. (See V. — 2 and 8.) The larger of these is
four inches deep, with a mouth 2£ inches wide. Its greatest diameter is
five inches. Outside it is of a black colour, and its surface is covered
with the characteristic punctured markings. Inside it is brown. The.
other vase is two inches deep, and has a mouth one inch in diameter.
Outside it is of a yellowish colour, and it has scratched upon its surface
a rough pattern, in between the scrolls of which there is a punctured
groundwork. Inside it is quite black. Both of these vases are said
to have been dug up in Hakodate.
Grinding-stpnes. (See V.-=—4.)
Whilst making the -public gardens at Hakodate, amongst other
.things a large number of grinding- stones have been exhumed. These
are flattish boulders, which on one or two sides have been worn away
to form smooth, hollow surfaces, apparently by the sharpening of
chisels upon them. The rock is andesite, similar to that of the
adjoining mountain. One of these boulders is almost two feet long,
one foot broad, and nine inches deep. Other examples are larger than
thiB, whilst others are smaller.
From the fact that I find by experiment that these chisels become
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IV.
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MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS. 78
easily chipped, even when catting soft wood, these grinding-stones
mast have been largely employed. Their number would seem to bear
out such a view. Whilst working with them upon wood it must have
been necessary always to have had a grinding- stone close at hand.
It is probable that sand and water may have been used during the
sharpening process, but there are no stricB on their surface such as we
might expect had such been the case.
Other Remains.
Besides the stone implements which have been found actually in
Hakodate, others have been found in the neighbouring country.
Amongst them I may mention spear and arrow-heads of obsidian from
Obanomura, Mitshikori, Shidakakuni, and axes from Aretake.
Conclusion.
Looked at generally, the relics from Hakodate appear to be much
older than those from Otaru. This is testified by their comparative
roughness, their glossy surface, and the greater depth at which they
have been found. That such should be the case appears to be borne out
by the fact that the aborigines of Yedo were probably driven away from
Hakodate long before tfeey were compelled to leave Otaru, and therefore
at this latter place we ought to expect to find their more recent work.
PART H.— GENERAL REMARKS UPON THE PREHISTORIC
REMAINS OF JAPAN.
As the remains which I have* now described have such an important
connection with remains of a similar kind found in Yezo and other parts
of Japan, I will now give, 1st, a brief summary of the more important .
facts which are before us, and, 2nd, the conclusion towards which such
facts appear to lead us.
Shell-heaps.
All over Japan, from Tezo in the north to Eiushiu in the south,
44 kitchen middens H or " shell mounds " have been found. In Yezo
I have seen such mounds at Nemoro in the extreme north, near
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Horoidznme, Otaru and Hakodate, and from each of these, with the ex-
ception of Horoidzume, I have made collections. Besides these localities,
there are in Yezo several other places from which I have seen specimens.
In Nipon I have also examined several kitchen' middens, as those near
Omori, Tsurnmi and Mississippi Bay. In addition to these localities,
several others might he mentioned where kitchen middens are found,
and from which collections have been made.
From the south we have the collections of Mr. Lyman and Prof.
Morse, made in Kiushiu. These heaps are principally made up of shells
and broken pottery. Mixed with these, there are many fragments of
broken bones, implements of stone and horn, and other objects which
may have been employed as ornaments. The shells looked at super-
ficially appear to * be similar to those found in the neighbouring sea.
By a careful examination of those found at Omori, Prof. Morse has come
to the following four conclusions : —
First — That a change has taken place in the relative abundance
of certain species. v
Second — That a change has taken place in the relative size of
certain species.
Third — That a change has taken place in the relative proportions
of the shells of certain species.
Fourth — That a change has taken place in the extinction of certain
species.
With regard to these observations, Prof. Morse remarks that " the
modification in the relative size and proportions of certain species is
profound, and would seem to indicate, either that species vary in a
much shorter time than had been supposed, or else the deposits
presenting these peculiarities have a much higher antiquity than had
'before been accorded them." These changes we should be inclined to
think are in great measure due to the great changes which have been
taking place in Yedo Bay during recent times. Upheaval is the
movement which has last taken place, a*d is probably still continuing.
The bay is rapidly silting up with the deposits brought down by trie
numerous large rivers which it receives. And during the last 8(j)0
years large cities and towns have sprung up round its shores, all of
which have added something to destroy the purity of its shallow er
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waters. All these causes combined are, and have been, making rapid
changes in physical conditions, and with them we should naturally
expect a rapid change in the fauna which are dependent on them.
The pottery generally occurs in fragments. At Nemoro, in 1878,
and this year at Otaru, I was fortunate enough to meet with single
specimens of complete vessels. Such specimens are, however, extremely
rare. Many of the vessels indicate from their blackened interiors that
they had probably been used for cooking purposes. In places they are
pierced with holes, which, from their conical shape, would seem to
show that they had been made with triangularly shaped rhymers, as for
example a pointed flake of flint. The chief point, however, which is to
be noticed about the pottery is, that whether it is found in the north of
Tezo or the middle of Nipon, its general appearance is similar, and the
patterns and designs which are worked upon it, so far as I have seen,
are in many cases identical.
The bones which have been found are those of fish, birds, monkey,
deer, dog, wolf and pig. At Omori Prof. Morse exhumed a number of
bones which he pronounces to be human, and from the way in which they
are scattered amongst the other refuse of which these heaps consist, and
from the manner in which they are broken, their discoverer regards
them as evidences of cannibalism. Similar discoveries have been made
by Prof. Morse in Higo.
Prof. Morse, in describing the mounds at Omori, gives a list of
" Objects not found at Omori." About these we will make no remarks.
In these shell-heaps, or scattered through the ground near to them,
stone implements are often found.
The number and the nature of these may be judged of from the
description which I have given of the deposits at Hakodate and Otaru.
TunvulL
The mound-like heap which I partially explored at Otaru may be
regarded as an example of a tumulus. Many of the tumuli which are
found in Japan are associated with tradition, as, for instance, the Yezo
Mori near Morioka, which is said to contain the bones of " Ebisu " or
Ainos slain by the general Tamura maro. It is possible that tumuli
of this description may repay the explorer. These tumuli must not,
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76 MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS.
however, be confounded with the mounds which line the sides of many
of the high roads, which have been heaped up to indicate distances, and
fulfil the functions of a European mile- stone.
Caves.
Jn many parts of Japan a large number of caves have been
discovered. In the limestone districts and some of the old volcanic
rocks these appear to be natural. I explored several of these caves in
Shikoku and also in other places. The only results which I obtained
were purely geological.
Artificial caves near Knmagai, Odawara, and in other localities,
which have been examined by Mr. Henry von Siebold, from the pottery
they contained, and other evidence which they yielded, showed that they
were of Korean origin. This conclusion is borne out by the names of
several places in the neighbourhood, which are also of Korean origin.
If we take into account the evidence furnished to us by history
(for example see the commencement of the Nihon-6-dai-ichi ran, Annals
of the Emperors), we shall be led to the conclusion that the early
inhabitants of Japan were cave-dwellers. In the book referred to, the
names and position, together with a description of many of these caves,
are given in detail.
The following notes on the caves and cave-dwellers of Japan I have
extracted from the Kekkio-ko, a recent book written by Mr. Kurokawa
Mayori. These notes may be of interest, as they tell us not only
something about the caves of Japan, but also something about the
aboriginal inhabitants and their wars with the advancing Japanese.
For the general revision and retranslation of the greater portion of
these notes, my best thanks are due to Mr. Ernest Satow.
The cave-dwellers of antiquity dug holes on the sides of hills
called muro, and lived in them, and they were also used as sleeping-
places because of the protection which they afforded against eold and
heat. Some of these caverns were in the rock (iha-ya), others in the
earth (muro). In the Kozhiki mention is made of a god " named
Lku-no-wo-habari no kami, who dwelt in the heavenly rock-cave at the
source of the Peaceful River of Heaven." [This so-called god was a
sword, and the Peaceful River is the Milky Way.] In the 3rd book of
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the Ma?i-yefu-ahifuy Ohishi no Sukuri, in a stanza about the rock-cave
of Shidzu in Ihami, says " the rock-cave of Shidzu, where Ohonamuchi
and Sukuna-biko-na dwelt, through how many ages they most have
existed I " These were caverns artificially excavated in the rock. It
was also a rock-cavern in which the Sun-goddess hid herself.
In the Nihongi it is said that Zhinmu Tenwau said secretly to
Michi-no-omi no mikoto, " Do you be leader of the Oku kumebe, and
construct a large muro at the village of Osaka," and it is further said
that " he dug a muro." [It is worth while noticing that the Chinese
character §? used in the original, and translated muro bv the Japanese,
has no connection with "caves," and simply means "apartment."]
Mention is also made in the same part of the Nihongi of tmchi-gumo,
literally earth-spiders, who stoutly resisted the army of the mikado, but
were finally subjugated. [It is thought probable that tsuclji-gumo is for
teuchi-gomori, " dwellers underground."] Some of them are described as
short in the body, with long legs and arms, like pigmies, and they are
said to have been caught in nets made of the long creeping stems of a
wild plant, probably the kuzu (Pueraria Thunbergiana). The same
part of the Nihongi speaks of " people of simple habits, who perched in
nests and lived in holes." In the Chinese classic called the Book of
Changes (^fE) there is a passage which speaks of men having
lived in caves and in the open air, until the Sages (or Holy men) of
later ages taught them how to build houses, and the Book of Rites
(ISfiJi) says that the ancient sovereigns lived in excavated caverns
during the winter, and in huts (or nests in the trees) during the
summer.
The ancient Topography of Setsutsu . (no longer extant, but a
fragment quoted in the commentary on the Nihongi, called Shiyaku
Nihongi) speaks of cave-dwellers, who were called Uuchi-gumo in the
vernacular. In the Topography of Hiuga (fragment quoted in the same
book) occurs a legend to the effect that "when Ninigi no mikoto
descended from heaven upon Mt. Takachiho in Hiuga, the heavens
were pitch-dark, and day was indistinguishable from night. It was
impossible to find the way or to recognize surrounding objects. He was
relieved from this predicament by two tsuchi-gumo named Big Sword-
guard and Little Sword-guard, who advised him to pluck ears of the
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78 MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS.
wild rice which grew there, and scatter the grains about him. He did
as they suggested, upon which the sky cleared, and the sun and moon
shone forth." [Kurokaha gravely says that we must not suppose that
these cave-dwellers were known as tsuchi-gumo at the time of the descent
of the " Heavenly grandson," but that it was applied to them at a later
date, the term not having been invented before the time of Zhinmu
Tenwau.]
The author is further of opinion that persons of rank had houses in
which they usually lived, and that some of them had caverns constructed
behind the house, or a little way off, which they used as sleeping-
apartments, while the common people usually had huts with caverns
similarly attached, while there were some who lived altogether in caves.
In the 4th book of the 'bikoiigi, which contains the history of
Suwizei Teiiwau, a story is told of one prince (who afterwards became
mikado) trying to kill another as he was sleeping in his great cellar.
[The author is of opinion that a sort of dais or platform was constructed
on one side of the cave to use as a bed-place.] In the Shiyau-zhi-roku
or Catalogue of Families, mention is made of a family descended from a
man who in the time of Zhinmu lived in a cave.
Leaving the central parts of Japan, the author next examines the
passages in which cave-dwellers in the eastern provinces are spoken
of. He quotes passages from the Topography of Hitachi, which refer to
txuchi-gumo who lived in artificial caverns. These people are described
as partaking of the character of the wolf and owl, and being as expert
thieves as the rat. It was impossible to tame them. (The Topo-
graphy of Hitachi was composed in the Chinese language about 710,
and consists chiefly of legends taken down from the lips of the oldest
inhabitant.) In this same book a story is told of one Kurogaka no
mikoto, who, taking advantage of the temporary absence of some of these
cave-dwellers, filled up the entrance to their dwellings with thorns.
On their return he hunted them with horsemen, but being caught by the
thorns and unable to escape, many received wounds of which they
afterwards died.
In the reign of Suzhin Tenwau (who, according to the popular
chronology, reigned from 97 to 80 B.C. and died at the age of 120
years), says the same topography, an expedition was sent against the
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MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS. 79
robber tribes of the eastern barbarians (under the command of one Take-
kashima no mikoto, who very likely took his name from Kashima, a
district in Hitachi province). He took up his quarters on Aba no
shima, lying some distance west from the sea- shore. There were two
chiefs of the barbarians, who dug holes and constructed banks of earth,
which formed their ordinary dwellings. The Mikado's officer sent his
men in pursuit of the savages, who retreated behind their earthworks
and guarded them strictly. He therefore held a council of war, and
picking out his most valiant warriors, formed them into an ambuscade
amongst the hills, while he held the shore with his ships. During a
whole week he had songs and music performed on board, which attracted
the whole population, man and woman, down to the beach, when the
signal was given, and the warriors issuing forth from their hiding places*
seized the earthworks, and then taking the barbarians in the rear made
them all prisoners, and burnt them alive.
In that part of the Nihongi which contains the history of Keikau
Tenwau (said to have reigned from 71 to ISO A.D. and to have lived
143 years) the most redoubtable of the eastern babarians are said to
have been the Ainos [so that there must have been other tribes as
well as Ainos] . The sexes dwelt together promiscuously, without
distinction of father and son (i.e. of parent and child). In the winter they
lived in caves and in the summer dwelt in huts (or nests). They dressed
in furs and drank blood. Even brothers were suspicious of each other.
In ascending the hills they flew like birds, and passed through the grass
like running quadrupeds. They forgot the favours they received, and
always revenged injuries, and to this end they carried arrows in their
hair and swords hidden in their dress. They were in the habit of
assembling in bands to harry the Japanese frontier. Sometimes they
took advantage of the Japanese being engaged in agriculture to carry
them off into captivity. When attacked they concealed themselves in
the grass, and when pursued, fled into the hills.
Eurokaha then examines the notices of cave-dwellers in the western
parts of Japan.
The Topography of Hizen speaks of Uuthi-gumo in Higo, who
refused to submit to the authority of the Mikado in the reign of the
prehistoric sovereign Suzhiii Tenwau already mentioned. His son, the
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80 MILNE *. PREHISTORIC REMAINS.
mythical hero Yamatodake no mikoto, also encountered tsuchi-gumo in the
coarse of his adventures. Fourteen or fifteen other passages are cited
by him in which tsuchi-gumo are spoken of. Of some it is remarked
that they " did not use stone, but built with earth," from which the
natural inference would' be that they constructed mud huts, or perhaps
roofed enclosures with thick earthen banks. It is worth while noting
that all these cave-dwellers and tsuchi-gumo disappear before the
beginning of authentic historical records.
As it is of interest to know the localities in which these tsuchi-gumo
are said to have lived, and to record the wars which were waged
between them and the advancing Japanese, we add the following
questions from the Topography of Hizeii, and other books, the names of
which are mentioned.
In the Topography of Hizeii mention is made of two female tsuchi-
gumo who modelled out of clay the figure of a man and a horse. These
they offered to the god Aragami in the village of Shimota mora.
The massacre of tsuchi-gumo by Yamatodake is spoken of.
About this time many barbarians or tsuchi-gumo appear to have
been killed on account of not obeying Imperial orders and refusing to
serve as soldiers.
The Emperor Sujin Tennd, whilst hunting in a place where there
were 80 islands, discovered that on one of them called Eochika a tsuchi-
gumo named Omimi resided, and on a second island called Ochika there
was- a tsuchi-gumo named Tarimimi. The remaining islands were
uninhabited. At the same time a rebellious tsuchi-gumo dwelt in Mount
Hahakoyama.
In this book many other accounts of tsuchi-gumo are given. Some
appear to. have been subdued, whilst others were destroyed. They are
mentioned as living at Hayakuno mura.
When Jingo Kogo (201-269 A.D.) intended to attack Korea, she
was wrecked amongst tsuchi-gumo.
The Emperor Keik6 Tenn6 (71-180 A.D.) fought with tsuchi-gumo
in the field of Negin6.
A stone cave called Nedsumi no iwaya existed in a mountain near
the villages of Tomi no mura in Buzen.
In Bungo, north of Asami no sato, there are two large cave-like
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MILNE : PBBHISTOBIC REMAINS. 81
dwellings built of stones, which are supposed to have been inhabited by
truchi-gunw. In this district the teuehi-gumo seem to have formerjy
existed in great strength.
Jinmu Tennd destroyed the t&uchi-gumo of Yamato.
Sujin Tennd, in the 48th year, made war against Uuchi-gumo of
the western provinces.
The Emperor Keikd (71-180 A.D.) carried on several wars against
the tsuchi-gumo of the western provinces. . Special reference is made to
wars in the province of Omi.
In the middle volume of the Kojiki, reference is made to men who
dwelt in caves. These men are said to have had tails.
In the Jmdai no maki (a history) there are references made to
cave-dwellers.
In the Kojiki (first volume) caves with stone doorB are mentioned.
In the Suisei Tennd ki a large cave in Eataoka is spoken about.
All the caves, both the stone caves and earth caves, are very often
mentioned as having doors which, when shut, were very difficult for
those on the outside to open.
In the Harima fudoH caves are spoken of at the village of Uwato-
mura.
From the Kojiki and other books we learn that although the caves
were frequently very small, they were often very comfortable within.
Straw mats and skins were used for beds.
In the Kenso Tennd ki (history of the times of the Emperor Eensd
485-487 A.D.) mention is made of the cave-dwellers having beds made
np of skins.
From the Jindai no maki in the NiJum shoki we learn that the
cave-dwellers buried a dead person in the cave where he had dwelt when
alive. This custom also exists among the Ainos in Yezo. In the same
book mention is made of caves of recent origin.
In the Nintokuki we read that in the 62nd year of the reign of
Nintoku, artificial caves were made in which to keep ice.
Even down to the time of the Emperor Tenmu Tennd (678-686
A.D.) caves appear to have been dug by the Japanese as bed-rooms and
dwelling places.
VOL. Till. 11
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82 MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS.
Pit Dwellings.
• In various parts of Yezo, collections of small pits have been found.
These were, I believe, first observed by Captain BlakiBton of Hakodate.
In 1878 I examined several of these at Nemoro. From the similarity
existing between these pits and a number of covered pits which I saw
in the Northern Kuriles, which had been the tenements of Alutes, I
was led to the conclusion that the pit-dwellers of Eamschatka had at
one time dwelt further south than they do at present, and were in ail
probability the originators of the groups of pits which are scattered
round the shores of Northern Yezo.
The conclusion to which I am led with regard to the shell-heaps
is that they are of Aino origin. The chief arguments which have been
brought forward in opposition to such a* view are, first that the Ainos
are not pot-makers, and if they ever were pot-makers it is difficult to
conceive how such an art could be forgotten.
In answer to such a statement, I may mention that Mr. Charles
Maries, when travelling near Horoidzume, on the eastern coast of Yezo,
saw at the houses of the Ainos clay vessels, in appearance very like the
fragments obtained from the shell-heaps, and he believes that the Ainos
in that district still manufacture pots. Further, I may add that in a
voluminous and profusely illustrated work upon the Ainos written in
the year 1800, which is now in the possession of Mr. James Bisset of
Yokohama, there are drawings given, together with a description of the
pots which were at that time manufactured by the Ainos.
The second objection is that the Ainos were not cannibals, and the
mildness of their character would preclude even the suspicion of such a
trait ever having soiled their character. In reply to this, I may remark
that in many of the works (of which there are some twenty or thirty in
the Asakusa library) describing the Ainos, there are many references
given, which shew that the Ainos, a few hundred years before they were
properly subdued, possessed a character which was sufficiently cruel to
render it unnecessary for us to extend our imagination very far beyond the
incidents which are there recorded to see them practising cannibalism. As
instances of their cruelty, we may remark that amongst their punishments,
severing the muscles of the leg, boiling the arms, slicing the nose, etc.,
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MILNE : PREHISTORIC REMAINS. 88
were not uncommon customs. (On this subject see the remarks of Mr.
Henry von Siebold, in his interesting and valuable book entitled " Notes
on Japanese archaeology.")
When speaking on thifc subject we must remember that it is not the
Ainos of the present day about whom we speak, but about their
ancestors, wno, like the ancestors of nearly all races, were more bar-
barous than their modern representatives. Even in a country like
Scotland, traces quite as suspicious as those of Omori have been
discovered, and although the Scotch a hundred years or so ago were, as
compared with their present condition, sufficiently uncultivated (see
Buckle's History of Civilization, Vol. II.), we have here an instance
where it is even more difficult than it is in the case of the Ainos to carry
our imagination back to the times of cannibalism ; but in spite of our
repugnance and the apparent impossibility of imagining such a state,
the facts which are before us force us to these unpalatable conclusions.
Prof. Morse lays great stress upon the platynemic tibia which he has
discovered in these shell-heaps. If such tibia are a characteristic of the
Ainos, and I am assured that such is the case, we have here another
indication pointing in the same direction.
That the originators of these shell-heaps were Ainos, and not the
remains of others who may have lived before them, I take the following
as being evidence of the strongest character : —
1st. — The contents of the heaps, from the remarks just made, are
such that it is quite possible that they may have been of Aino origin.
The designs on the pottery are, in very many instances, similar to the
designs which are carved by the Ainos of the present day. When we
remember that the Ainos have been continually decreasing in numbers,
whilst at the same time they were coming closer in contact with the
Japanese, from whom pottery which was both cheaper and better than
their own could be obtained, it is only reasonable to suppose that the
ait of pottery should be gradually given up. Illustrations of parallel
cases might be cited from European sources, as for instance the loss of
the art of glass making amongst the Venetians.
2nd. — The positions which these shell-heaps occupy are on spots
which we know from history were once tenanted by Ainos, and even
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down to the end of the 12th century Ainos were living in Nipon.
Traces of this occupation are left in the names of many places, as for
instance Imabetsu in Tsugaru.
If we assume that these shell-heaps were formed near to the shore,
as shell-heaps are formed by the Ainos and Japanese of the present day,
and then appeal to geological reasoning, we shall be led to similar
conclusions.
As an example of such reasoning *we may take the Omori shell-
heap, which is situated on the inner edge of the Tama-gawa delta, about
half a mile distant from the sea-shore. If we, then, assume that the
rate of advance of this delta has been on an average one yard per year,
880 years ago the Omori heap must have been very near to the sea-
board. If the rate of advance has been only one-third of this, that is
one foot per year, the time which has elapsed since the Omori heap was
on the shore can only have been about 2640 years. These rates of
advance have been computed by comparing together a number of old
maps phewing the head of Yedo Bay.
At the time I wrote the " Stone Age in Japan " (a paper which has
already been referred to), in order to determine the age of the Omori
shell-heaps I used an argument similar to that which has here been
brought forward. The materials on which I based my arguments consisted
for the most part of a number of old maps which are to be found
in the Asakusa library. For copies of these maps my best thanks are
due to Mr. Toshio Nakano, of the Edbu dai Gakkd.
Since making these calculations, I have seen a valuable paper by
Dr. Edmund Naumann upon the plain of Yedo, in which he publishes a
copy of a map of Yedo in the year 1028.1 (See Petermann's Mittheilungen,
25 Band, 1879, p. 128.) As this map, combined with others to which
I have before referred, forms such excellent material from which to
study the advancements which have taken place in the coast line round
the head of Yedo Bay, I have ventured to append the accompanying
sketch, on which five coast lines are marked, namely, those of the
periods Chdgen (1028-1086), Chdzoku (1457-1460), Eiroku (1558-1569),
Kuanyei (1624-1644), and the one of the present day. As the old
1Froxn what Dr. Naumann says respecting this map, too great reliance must
not be put upon it, as it was in all probability drawn from tradition.
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MILNE: PBEHIBTORIO REMAINS. 85
maps from which these are taken are in many places very indefinite,
these sketches mast be regarded as being only approximately true. Also
it must be observed that these coast lines are not complete, only those
portions of them being drawn which shew an advancement of the
sea-board. At many times in places there was a retreat of the land,
probably due to its being worn away by the Somida-gawa or the
sea. To have represented the complete coast lines during each of
these periods would have necessitated the drawing of five map's, and
these, if they were superimposed upon each other, would have led to a
confusion of lines without being more valuable for the purpose for which
the accompanying map has been drawn.
By looking at the map as it stands, it will be seen that the delta of
the Sumida-gawa and the Naka-gawa has increased, like all other deltas,
at very different rates in its different parts. Near the mouths of the
rivers the advance has been rapid, whilst to the right and left we see
that it has been slow.
As a few out of the many examples which might be taken to shew
what this rate of increase has been, we may take the following : —
1. From Asakusa in 1459 to the mouth of the present Sumida-gawa
the distance is about 4,200 yards. To form this in 420 years gives an
average advancement of the land at 88 feet per year.
2. From the coast line of 1459 opposite to the castle and across
the modern Tsukiji to the present coast, is a distance of about 1,200
yards. This gives an advancement of eight feet per annum.
8. From the coast line of 1459 at Shiba, the distance* is about 800
yards. This gives an advancement of about two feet per year.
4. From the coast line of Asakusa in 1028, to the present coast
line is a distance of about 4,800 yards. To form this in 850 years
indicates an advancement of 17 feet per annum.
5. From the old coast line of Funa-gawa in 1558 to the present
coast line is a distance of about 2,400 yards. To form this in 820 years
means an increase in the land at the rate of 22 feet per year.
The Omori shell-heap is situated on the edge of the Tama-gawa
delta as Shiba is on the edge of the delta of the Sumida-gawa.
From these results it will be seen that by taking an average advance
of only one foot per year, when calculating the age of the Omori heap,
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I am in all probability far within the limits of what has actually been
the case, and therefore the age of the heap, rather than being more than
2,600 years old, is probably less than that period.
It may of coarse be remarked that the delta of the Samida-gawa is not
that of the Tama-gawa, and that on this latter river the rate at which
silt has been deposited may have been much lesB than the rate at which
it has been deposited in tfce former.
To any one who has looked at the two rivers, it will, however, be t
recognized that the differences are in every probability too small to make
any essential difference in so general a calculation.
From the long spit which the Tama-gawa is throwing out, assuming
that these two rivers are of the same geological age, it would seem that
if there is a difference we shall find that the deposition in the Tama-gawa
is the more rapid of the two, and if careful investigations and calculations
were made, the time when the Omori shell-heap was on the sea-shore
would prove to be less than 2,000 years ago.
[Note. — In confirmation of the correctness of these old maps, I may
mention that Dr. Naumann has, by several historical references,
shewn that sea existed in those parts where the maps indicate it to
have existed. ' As a farther proof we have the geological evidence
based on the nature of the soil.]
Returning now to the question before us, we see that geological
reasoning and historical research are supplementary and afford each
other a mutual support. ' The one tells us when the shell-heaps were on
the shore, and the other when Ainos were hunters in the land, and these
periods are accordant.
That the Ainos used stone implements there seems to be no doubt.
In the book already referred to, written in the year 1800, the names of
Aino tribes living in the interior of Yezo who were then using stone
implements are given, and the reasons why they should be compelled
to do so are commented upon.
In all that has been here said about the Ainos, it must be remem-
bered that the name "Aino " has been used in its most general sense.
In Yezo at the present day there are different tribes of Ainos, and it is
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MILNE : PREHIS'TOKIO REMAINS. 87
quite possible that the tribes who originally dwelt m Nipon may have
become quite extinct, and that those who still live in Yezo are only
branch representatives of their ancestors.
So far as we are yet able to judge from the facts before us, the
conclusions then are : — That the Ainos once covered Japan, and that
they have left behind them kitchen middens as indications of their
presence. Step by step they were gradually forced back towards the
north. During this retreat it is possible that they in turn drove the
pit-dwellers, who were probably Alutes or Kamschadales, through the
Euriles toward Eamschatka. Whilst these changes were going on in the
north, the Japanese advancing from the south, being desirous of learn-
ing the arts practised by their neighbors on the continent, invited over
colonies of Koreans.
If we could go back to the time when the Ainos roamed through
Nipon, no doubt we should find them pondering over broken stone and
other spoor which had been left by those who lived before them. If,
on the other hand, we could go forward to the period of the coming
race, to the time when the existence of Europeans in Japan will be little
more than folk-lore, no doubt we should see the archaeologist of the
future filling his museum with fragments of brick gathered on the site
of ancient Tokio.
In fact, all that we have before us is the fragments of a long
story. Coming before that which has here been indicated, there is a
paragraph which so far has not yet been read, whilst after it there is a
paragraph being now worked out, and which some day will be studied
by a future generation.
The story is that of how one race has succeeded another. It finds
its parallel in all countries, and it has been called by Darwin the struggle
for existence.
♦
DISCUSSION.
The President, in thanking Mr. Milne for his very valuable communication,
asked for more information as to the evidence of land upheaval and silting whidh
had been mentioned in the paper, and whether there was any evidence that
upheaval was now going on in this part of the island.
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Mr. Aston expressed his gratification that so much attention had been paid
daring the last few years to the important subject of the prehistoric remains
found in Japan. He was glad to observe a tendency to diminish the antiquity
which had been earlier assigned to these remains by some of the writers on this
subject. Civilization is in Japan a product of much more recent growth than in
Europe, and we do not require to go so far back in order to meet with tokens
of a primitive degree of advancement. In connection with the question of
the Aino occupancy of the main island of Japan, Mr. Aston exhibited a rubbing
from a stone which may still be seen at Taga near Sendai. This stone has an
inscription of which the following is a translation : —
UWE8T.
•• Castle of Taga:
Distant from the capital 1,500 ri.
" " frontier of Yezo 120 ri.
•' " ". "Hitachi 412 ri.
» " « " Shimotsuke 274ri.
" " " " Makkatsu 8,000ri.
" This castle was built in the first year of Shinki, Kinoye-Ne (A J). 724), by
OnoAson Adzumado, Azeshi (Commissioner of Police) and general for the
maintenance of order, upper grade of the junior division of the fourth rank and
fourth rank of the Order of Merit. It was repaired by Yemi no Ason, Fujiwarano
Asakari, Sangi (Councillor) Setsudoshi (General) of the Tdsandd, upper grade of
the junior division of the fourth rank, Minister for Home Affairs, Azeshi( Com-
missioner of Police), and General for the maintenance of order, in the 6th year
of Tempei Hdji, Midzunoye-Tora, AJ). 762.
" 1st day of 2nd month of the 6th year of Tempei Hdji (762)."
The ri mentioned here are evidently not the ordinary Japanese n, but the
ancient ri of six cho, or somewhat less than half a mile. This would place the
Yezo frontier rather more than fifty miles north of Sendai, thus leaving a large
tract which was then known as Yezo, and which we may presume was still in-
habited by Ainos. Of course this inscription is only one of a number of evidences
of a similar character.
Dr. H. Fauldfl concurred in the President's estimate of the valuable
contribution which had just been listened to. Prof. Milne had spoken of one of
the vessels as showing a cord mark. Undoubtedly the jar spoken of had a raised
pattern of cord-like shape running in a wave around its neck. Archawlogically,
however, if must be noted that the so-called cord-marks in primitive pottery were
something quite different from this. They are simple, rough, inartistic indenta-
tions in the clay, made before drying. The simplest, and presumably earliest,
specimens seem to have been the result of pressure from bandages of
rough open mat or cloth made from grass ropes. These bandages were probably
wound around the soft vessel in order to enable it to retain its shape while
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drying. Such an appearance is often seen in the large lumps of day taken out
of T6kid canals for the undercoat of plaster, and the impressions are made by the
grass rope bags in which the mass is carried, but the meshes are much less open
in early pottery. The ordinary cheap domestic earthenware hitherto so despised
by connoisseurs is fall of striking reminiscences of this rude art now so generally
supposed to be lost. The black braziers in common use in Japan are covered
with stamped impressions which can be traced back, the speaker believed,
through many slight modifications to this early character. The desire to conform
to a conventional type which has become deeply rooted in the domestic habits
of a people gives rise in art to many such examples. The "mat" impressions
figured by Prof. Morse in plate V. fig. 1 are to be found repeated in the
most recent pottery, and the speaker had seen and examined a piece of
the most primitive grass rope kind which had certainly been made in
Japan within the last ' seven hundred years. Those found in the shell-
heaps studied by Professors Milne and Morse were all of a more highly developed
and differentiated type than that, and the fragments now shown by the essayist were
identical with more found in Omori. The types hitherto found in these shell-
heaps did not seem to the speaker to be separated by any one well-marked char-
acter from contemporary pottery of a low grade. Indeed the shell-heaps
scattered along the old and recent coasts of Tedo Bay presented in their
fragments of pottery a series of modifications leading up fo recent times,
and some of the heaps may be seen in actual process of accumulation. People
not accustomed to such enquiries naturally perhaps tended at first to exaggerate a
little the antiquity of their discoveries, and hence cautious criticism was useful.
What was the greatest antiquity which could be allowed to them ? Looking at all
the facts, he had ventured publicly to assign 600 years as the probable antiquity of
the Omori heap, and was glad now to announce that Mr. Ninagawa, of the Tdkid
Museum, and the principal authority on the subject of Japanese pottery, decides that
the remains of earthenware cannot be older than about 1,000 years, for at that time it
was known that the methods of working which had been adopted were first introduced
into Japan. It thus remained, therefore, for him (the speaker) to point out that the
" almost infinite " varieties represented there, as alluded to by Prof. Morse in his work, .
and the notable fact of their being spread so widely along the old coast of Japan, would
probably necessitate their being dated a century or two later than that period,
which came very near indeed to his original published estimate of 600 years. A
definite rise of the beach had been historically recorded, and there were several
facts to show that even in the present century a very noticeable elevation had
taken place. It would be a fallacy, however, to assume generally that any shell-heap
had necessarily been formed en the actual coast line. Cases had been recorded in
a Scottish newspaper, during the Queen's recent tour in the western Highlands,
where struggling croft farmers had lived on shell and other fish largely, And
although their farms were at a long distance from the shore and high above it,
vol. viii, . 12
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their homesteads were surrounded by heaps of empty shells, doubtless with
fragments of contemporary pottery strewed amongst them. A future geologist
looking simply at Buch a fact might readily err in his deductions. In the elaborate
work of Professor Morse, published by the University, he had carefully given us a
description of the markings of the prehistoric pottery found by him. He (the
speaker) now begged leave to show some interesting but unpretentious specimens
of the "prehistoric" pottery of this nineteenth century. The first is- a tea-pot of
unglazed earthenware. It has been entirely moulded by the fingers, and has in
many places been^ indented all over with a rough cloth pattern ; its ornamentation
consists of the simplest and most childlike whirls and scratches, while its handle
is stuck on in the most primitive fashion. It is in quite common use in Tdkid,
the capital of Japan, at the present day. The next article is BtiU more strikingly
" prehistoric." It cannot have been turned on the wheel, but is an imperfect cone
made of a sheet of rolled-out clay folded on itself like a grocer's poke. Its neck
has been narrowed and then the rim everted by the pressure of fingers, the
markings of which are retained. It has a somewhat amphora-like appearance, and
resembles also the ancient lachrymatory or tear-bottle, but is much cruder in design
than any the speaker had seen in museums and much larger than the latter.
They are used for keeping warm the »ake of the Japanese night policemen chiefly,
the cone being thrust into the hot ashes of the brazier. Such examples ought to
suggest more caution in making deductions than had sometimes been displayed in
our day. A curious example of the conventional reproduction of such primitive
scratchings and indentations as adorn one of the fragments (No. 3) shown by Prof.
Milne was on view in a curio shop in Asakusa a few weeks ago. The vessel was of
iron and not of vefy ancient date. It was an exact imitation of a clay one of the
same type which must have existed as a model. Any one would have admitted
that. Another type of pottery which is now in common use and is glazed,
reproduces the iron conventional one — the staining of rust being very well imitated.
The original type has here undergone at least two transmutations, and the first
hatchings seem to be conventional "reminiscences" of an expiring cord-marked
pottery. Such facts, and they are exceedingly numerous, tended to show that a tradi-
tion of the oldest shell-heap pottery still lives in the lower strata of contemporary art
in Japan, which in itself is corroboration of the newness of these oldest known
shell-heaps an J their continuity in historical evolution with present Japanese progress.
The late survival of " prehistoric" pottery and other arts is the rule rather than
the exception under certain conditions of social progress. The speaker was not
prepared as yet to accept finally the belief that the Ainos were the founders of
these heaps. To show that they now have similar pottery, etc., might perhaps in
itself not show more than that, as gypsies in Europe do, they had slowly adopted
the arts of the more civilized race surrounding them. But other evidence may
ye* be found to settle this question. When we look back to primitive man
struggling to reach a higher level, we are glad to avail ourselves of every feeblest aid
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to get a glimpse of him, but the records he has left are very few and not very
expressive at the best. Attempts had been made to determine whether ancient ■
men were not sometimes left-handed, and the direction of the pressure in making
arrow-heads had been thought to demonstrate the fact. It had occurred to him
that the finger markings in primitive pottery might be made to contribute some
faint ray of light. The furrows on the tips of one's fingers form a very distinct
pattern. In all the fingers of one man's hand they might be found to run downwards
obliquely from left to right. In another the thumb only migbt show another
pattern. In another still, all the fingers might be. different from this, and so on, so
that it was not impossible that a new means of reaching some legible race marks
might be added to science by a careful comparative study of these familiar
finger-point patterns. At present the facts known to him in this connection were
simply puzzling, but law must underlie them.
In reply Mr. Milne observed that with regard to the suggestion of Dr.
Fanlds that a mistake might arise by assuming that the Omori shell-heap
was on the sea-board at the time of its. formation, it must be remembered
that all the shell-heaps which have been discovered in the same neighbourhood
he round the edge of an ancient coast line on the border of a delta, and that the
position of the Omori heap was not an exceptional one like the position of
the shell heaps which had been referred to by Dr. Faulds. The pit dwellings
which Mr. Aston spoke of also appeared to be of an exceptional nature, whereas
from the number of those which are to be found round Yezo, it. would Bcem that
they represented ordinary every-day dwelling places and not places which had been
dug out in cases of emergency. They were* in fact like the groups of regular
dwelling places which are at' the present day excavated in Kamchatka. The best
proofs of elevation having taken place round Yedo bay appeared to be the Pholus
borings which are to be seen at several places in the cliffs almost 10 feet above the
present high- water mark — and this rise of land, taken in conjuction with the vast
deposits of silt which are brought down by the various large rivers which flow into
the bay, would make the changes in coast line exceedingly rapid.
The meeting was then adjourned.
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(92)
HID&YOSHI AND THE SATSUMA CLAN IN THE
SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
By J. H. Gubbins.
[Read December 9, 1879.]
Nearly thirty years have elapsed since Japan emerged from the
seclusion imposed upon her by her rulers, and opened her markets to
foreign commerce. These years have witnessed changes of a magnitude
which perhaps was scarcely contemplated by the innovators themselves.
Although during this period much has been learnt of the present
condition of the Japanese nation, it is doubtful if we know much more
of its past history than was to be found in the chronicles of Dutch
writers and the letters of Spanish and Portuguese missionaries, At the
present time, when the wave of foreign civilization has yet to run its
course in Japan, and whatever smacks of antiquity is neglected in the
common cry for something new, it is not surprising if the wide, field
which the history of past centuries presents to the nafive student is •
abandoned for more seductive researches in, the direction of European
literature and sciences. When the reaction sets in, it may be that
Japan will give birth in her turn to a Macaulay, a Froude,- or a Hume,
and past events be set forth with that clearness and eloquence which
these masters of historical narrative 'have achieved. Until then, however, •
the task of tracing back effects to their causes, and unravelling the
tangled skein of Japanese history, must be no light one. For, unfor-
tunately, native works claiming to be histories of Japan, to which we are
referred for information, are singularly barren of Jhose details which are
essential to an intelligent appreciation of the course of events. They
are more properly chronological records, in which great facts and events
are noted in the exact order in which they happened, without comment
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GUBBIN8: HIDEYOSHI AND THE 8AT8UMA CLAN. 98
or explanation of any kind. And when we consider that the two main
qualities by which the merit of a book in former days was determined*,
and by which the writer was therefore influenced in the composition of his
work, were elegance of diction and accuracy of detail, we cannot be sur-
prised when we hear of events but learn nothing of the cause, and read
in monotonous order of the births, accessions, and deaths of emperors ;
of battles, sieges, and startling occurrences, without acquiring any
knowledge of the minor links* in the great chain of events which have
in reality a deeper interest for after generations of readers. The writers
of these works had in their minds as they wrote two ideas upon which
they worked, to the exclusion of everything else, — namely, that Japan was
a great empire, ruled by one sovereign, and that the governing dynasty
had preserved, during a period extending over 2000 years, that unbroken
succession of which every Japanese is, or professes to be, proud. They
overlooked the fact, so very patent to us now, that though Japan was
theoretically under one sovereign, it was practically divided into many
petty states, each with its own history ; and that just as in the science
of medicine a knowledge of anatomy is indispensable to the right under- ,
standing of the human frame and its various functions, so the progress
of events in each province and clan had its influence upon the history
of the empire, and was in fact inseparably connected with it.
To give one instance from many, — " Japanese histories " tell us
of the introduction of Christianity at a certain date into Kiushiu, but
of the causes which led to its adoption, assisted its development, and
finally brought about its proscription, we hear nothing whatever.
Fortunately, however, the information thus wanting in Japanese
histories is supplied by another class of works, of which the Heike
Monogatari, the Gempei-aeisuiki, the Nihonguaishi-ho, the TaikSH,
Tokugawaki, etc., are prominent instances. The number of these books
is happily large. They are all more or less local in character, supplying
details respecting particular clans, families, or provinces, or the subjects
treated of have a special bearing on certain episodes in Japanese
history which one looks for in vain among works of greater literary
pretensions. They suffer by comparison with so-called histories of Japan,
inasmuch as the authors have been led by interested motives to accept
for facts circumstances which have a high colouring of romance, but it
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94 gubbins: HID^YOSHI and the satsuma clan.
is a question if they do not gain more by supplying those very details in
the history of the times which cannot be found elsewhere. To a student
of Japanese history they are invaluable, for it is only by a careful study
of each clan and its relation to the central government that we can form
a correct judgment of past events.
The subject of the present paper, — the struggle for supremacy
between Hid^yoshi and the Satsuma Clan in the sixteenth century, has
been overlooked by a recent1 writer on Japan, for it finds no place in
his list of Hideyoshi's enterprises. Yet in its bearing on the. history of
the period it can only be regarded as an event of the first importance.
The position of Satsuma has always been one of peculiar interest. Until
the year before last she was an imperium in imperio. It is the object of
this paper to shew briefly how high was the position she held three
centuries ago, and how her power was then checked, although through
motives of policy the position of the clan was left practically uriassared.
Before proceeding to give an account of Hideyoshi's campaign, it
may be interesting to go back a little, and beginning with a short sketch
of earlier events, shew the causes which brought upon the Satsuma Clan
the displeasure of the. government at Kiyoto. And we cannot begin this
retrospect better than in the words of a historical romance entitled
11 Toyotomi Chinsei Gunki " — (an account of the conquest of the western
Provinces by Toyotomi Hideyoshi).
" Of all the wide space under heaven there is no corner, however
small, which does not belong to the Sovereign. Therefore everything
that breathes the breath of life is under an obligation to the Emperor.
From the earliest times there have always been evil persons who have
disobeyed the Imperial commands, and have created disturbances in the
State ; but thanks to the divine origin of this land of ours, their machi-
nations have come to naught. During eighty generations of Emperors,
from Jimmu Tennd downwards, the sixty odd provinces of Japan were
governed by hige (Court nobles), who were the channels through
which the Emperor's commands were transmitted to the people, and
revolts were put down by the troops who guarded the palace. But
the administration of the kuge was too mild, and from time to time
those people who lived in remote districts, mistaking the gentleness of
iGriflis.
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GUBBINS: HID&YOSHI AND THE SATSUMA CLAN, 95
the hand which ruled them for weakness, rebelled against the Imperial
mandates and raised insurrections, thus violating the peace of the
realm. In this way the rival Houses of Minamoto and Taira main-
tained a civil war during the periods of Hogen and Heiji [A. D. 1256] ,
and the feud continued until Yoritomo's family finally defeated the
Taira, and restored tranquillity to the country. In return for his services
he received the title of %Nihon sotsui hosJri, and the government of Japan
from that time may be said to have passed into the hands of the
military class which he founded [A.D. 1192] . Yoritomo, as commander-
in-chief of the military forces, ruled with an iron hand, and every
province submitted to his sway."
For the next 150 years the administrative power was nominally in
the hands of Yoritomo's descendants, but it was wielded by members of
the Hojo family, who were called SJwyun no Shikken (or Chief Adviser
to the Shogun). On the overthrow of the 9th of the line (A. D. 1888),
Takatoki, the government of the country reverted to the Emperor and
the huge. But only for a short time. As one of the results of the battle
of the Minato-gawa, the Shdgunate was reestablished under Ashikaga
Takauji, and with its revival the military class secured a fresh hold upon
the country, which lasted until modern times.
It was of course necessary in those turbulent times for the main-
tenance of peace that the Shogun should be a man of determination and
ability, and since Yoshimasa, the 8th of the Ashikaga Shoguns, possessed
neither judgment nor firmness, the result was the outbreak of another
disastrous civil war (A.D. 1467) known as the " 6nin no Ran.1* It
commenced in a private feud between the Kwan-riyo, or Crown Advisers,
but little by little other families were drawn into the quarrel on one side
or the other, animated by personal pique or hereditary jealousy, and
ultimately these civil troubles lasted for a whole century.
For this state of anarchy the feudal system in itself was not to
blame. The evil lay in the conditions under which it existed. The
jealous sanctity in which the Emperor was enveloped had the effect of
diminishing the direct influence of the Sovereign upon the administra-
tion. Other causes which operated in the same direction may be
found in the disintegrating effects of the constant struggle for supremacy
between two powerful religions, in the notorious weakness of the Court,
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96 OUBBINS: HIDEYOSHI AND THE SATSUMA CLAN.
and in the narrow sphere of action to which the Shdgunate was limited,
not to speak of leaser causes, such as defective communication, local
differences of dialect, and jealousies between the old and new aristocracy.
Naturally, under such conditions the. feudal system was nourished and
maintained in growing splendour long after it had ceased to be of
practical utility to the country. It is the fashion for modern writers,
especially Japanese, to join in a common outburst of indignation against
feudalism, to which they appear to attribute all the misfortunes which
have occurred to the people of Japan ; but there js little doubt that in
many ways it was of much benefit to the country at large. It was this
'system which made of Japan a nation of warriors, which brought
civilization into the remotest parts of the country, and by promoting a
spirit of rivalry between each clan and each province, gave birth to
that artistic taste and mechanical genius which have secured to Japan,
in the case of certain of her productions, a monopoly of the markets of
the world. That feudalism had its dark side is obvious. While it
existed Japan was as a house divided against itself. Civilization pro-
gressed by fits and starts ; now one province and now another passed
each other in the race for prominence ; and while some, through contact
with each other and the outside world, reached a high state of Oriental
civilization, others again, less fortunate in position, remained in the
" darkness of an untutored barbarism."
The provinces of Kiushiu were among the most favoured in Japan.
Yielding in some respects to the provinces in the immediate neighbour-
hood of the capital, which were more fortunately placed for the growth
of literature and the fine arts, in the advantages of climate, soil and
. situation, Kiushiu was second to none. In the dim twilight of early
history, the settlers in Japan come before us associated with the province
of Hiuga; it was the same province* which saw the departure of the
expedition under the command of the legendary hero Jimmu Tennd,
which landed in Settsu and established its headquarters at Kashiwara in
Yamato ; and when we quit the uncertain region of romance rfnd come
down to the surer foothold of later historical fact, it is Kiushiu again
which, first by means of commerce and secondly through the medium of
Christian missionaries, was brought into contact with the western world
long before the rest of the country.
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GUBBINS: HH>iY08HI AND THE SATSUMA OLAN. 97
The advantages which Kiushiu thus early secured have left their
mark in history. Her civilization was developed earlier, her customs
bore the stamp of a clearer individuality, her clans were better organ-
ized, and their chiefs gifted with more enterprise than any other part
of Japan, whether we take the Chiugoku, the Gokinai or the Kwantd.
And as time went on and the spirit of feudalism worked its way
throughout every corner of the land, leavening the national character
and customs, this individuality grew more marked, and the distinction
between a native of Kiushiu and a northerner became more and more
clearly denned, until it found expression in the popular saying that a
Satsuma man is first a Satsuma man and then a Japanese.
During this period of misgovernment or rather no government
at all, anarchy reigned every where, and Kiushiu was no exception to
the rest of Japan. Each clan was up in arms against its neighbour ;
the aggrandisement of one was the signal for a coalition among its
rivals, and in the prosecution of these feuds little magnanimity was
shown. They were carried out to the bitter end, with the result that
not unfrequently a noble family which had owned wide acres for many
a long year was entirely exterminated. "It seemed," says the
author above quoted, speaking of this state of things, " as if they in
their mad eagerness for strife were contending as to which should
quickest disappear, as the dew on the morning grass. Kiushiu was
one wide field of disturbance, and a great wail went up to Heaven
from the unhappy provinces of the southern island.
But circumstances create the men to deal with them, and Japan
found such men in Hidfyoshi and his predecessor Nobunaga. When
in A. D. 1888 the former succeeded the latter in the post of Kambaku,
he found that the centralizing policy which he advocated had already
been inaugurated, and that the blow dealt by his predecessor at the
Buddhist priesthood had at all events removed one obstacle from his
path. His military talent had contributed in no small degree to
Nobunaga's success, and it now .served him in good stead, for the
accomplishment of his own designs. With astonishing rapidity he over-
came all resistance, being doubtless aided in the case of the more northern
provinces by the cooperation of Iy6yasu, who was already master of a
great portion of the Kwantd. Some local chieftains he reduced by force ;
vol. Tin. 13
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98 GUBBINS : HIDAYOSHI AND THE SATSUMA CLAN.
others, more powerful, he conciliated, and thus in a few short years,
by a combination of tact and military skill, he succeeded in enforcing
the central authority everywhere on the main island. He then prepared
to extend his policy to Eiushiu.
The state of affairs there was this. Three powerful nobles, Biuzdji
Masaiy6, Prince of Hizen ; Otomo Yoshishigd, Prince of Bungo ; and
Shimadzu Yoshihisa, who was the head of the Satsuma Clan, divided the
island between, them. There were of course several -smaller chieftains,
each with his territory, his castles, and his own feudal retainers ; but
these, without an exception, held their lands at the pleasure of one or
other of the three prominent nobles, and were bound to help their
patrons with money and men in case of need.
The first to obtain a commanding position in Eiushiu was the
family of Otomo. Tradition relates that the founder of the line was a
natural son of Yoritomo, by a mistress who was the daughter of a man
of gentle birth named Otomo Tsun&ye\ The boy took the surname of
his maternal grandfather, and was known as Otomo Ichihoshi. At the
age of seven he was attached to the suite of Yoritomo, and was fortunate
enough to attract his master's notice by his coolness and courage on
the occasion of a riot which occurred one night during a campaign. He
rapidly rose in the esteem of Yoritomo, and after he reached man's estate
his distinguished services in various military expeditions, earned him, in
1198, the appointment of Governor of Bungo and Buzen, with the title
of Sakon Shogen. From this time he was known as Otomo Yoshinawo.
We hear little of the Otomo till the civil war, in which two courts with
rival emperors were established. In these dissensions the reigning
prince Sadamun6 took the side of the king-maker Ashikaga Takauji, and
was with the latter in his successful march on Kiyoto and the decisive
battle of the Minato-gawa.
To their connection with the victorious party in the State it is
probable that the Otomo owed the foundation of their future greatness.
Under Chikao, the grandson of Sadamun6, who according to the records
of the Otomo appears to have combined the abilities of an administrator
with military genius, the territory of the Otomo was greatly increased,
* * . •
and before he died Chikao received the title of Tsukushi* no Tandai, or
2 Ancient name for Chikuzen and Chikugo.
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Governor of the Provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo> which he held in
addition to Bnzen and Bango.
During the next hundred and fifty years the position of the clan
deteriorated, 'the Barons of the tributary fiefs in Chikuzen and Chikugo
took advantage of the want of energy in the Otomo chiefs to assert their
independence ; ^and little by little the territory which had been won by
Chik&o went out of the clan's grasp, and reverted to its original
possessors. The domestic relations of the family were also not alto-
gether happy. The question of succession in the principality was
frequently the Bubject of fierce contention, and on two occasions the chief
of the family fell by the hand of his son.
A revived of military energy took place in the middle of the
sixteenth century under Gikwan, whose son led the Otomo arms to
success in Higo, but the prince's wish to disinherit Yoshishig6, the
rightful heir, in favor of a child by a favorite mistress, led to
another tragedy in the history of the clan. Two of the principal
retainers of the Otomo, who sided with the eldest son, resolved that
this injustice should not be done, and one night they forced their way
into the prince's sleeping apartments and murdered him. His mistress
and the boy whom he wished to make his successor were killed at the
same time.
Otomo YoshishigeV whom this act placed at the head of the clan in
A.B. 1550, soon shewed proof of great energy. Desirous of emulating
the deeds of his ancestor Chikao, he was soon engaged in a series of
struggles with other nobles in Eiushiu, and with the celebrated Mdri
Motonari, the Prince of Chdshiu, on the main land. In these he was
almost invariably successful. M6ri's repeated invasions of the Otomo
territory were repulsed with great loss, and he was defeated signally in
three pitched battles. Riueoji in Hizen met with no better success.
His advance in cooperation with Mdri was ignominiously checked, and
he had to sign an inglorious peace with the Otomo Generals in his own
dominions. The rebellious vassal chiefs in other provinces threw them-
*YoBhishig6 is the Prince of Bungo alluded to in the works of Christian
missionaries on Japan as Civandono. His influence in Eiushiu was clearly one of
the causes of the rapid spread pf Christianity, as that of Satsuma was associated
with its decline.
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selves on the clemency of Yoshishig6, and by the year 1578 the territory
of the clan was as great as it had ever been, and it held the first position
in Kiushiu.
From this high position the fall of the Otomo was sadden. Daring
the last few years of their power a hostile clan in the south had quietly
been working its way to the fore. Its strength was now to be shewn.
A long and successful, campaign against the neighbouring prince of
Hiuga had enabled the Satsuma Clan to make gradual encroachments on
the southern frontier of its rival, and in the autumn of 1578, the same
year which saw the Otomo family at the height of its power, a rapid
and victorious inroad had carried the Satsuma Generals to a point
within 40 miles of the Bungo border. The Otomo chief hurried to the
assistance of his ally at the head of an army of 70,000 men, and met
the invaders near the Mimi-gawa. In the long-contested battle which
ensued, — lasting the greater part of two days, — the Satsuma troops
were completely victorious, and Otomo Yoshishige1 barely escaped with
his life and the remnant of his army. From this blow the family
never recovered.
The tradition which gives the same illustrious descent to the
founder of the House of Shimadzu as to the first prince of the Otomo,
pointing to Yoritomo as their direct ancestor, is too well known to quote
at length here. According to this story Yoritomo, when a captive in the
power of the rival House of Taira, formed an attachment to the sister of
one of his guardians. Their connection was discovered, and the girl,
escaping with her life owing to the tender heart of the retainer who had
been ordered to kill her, found her way into the province of Settsu,
where in the shadow of the shrine at Sumiyoshi, she gave birth to a son.
In the year 1193 this son was appointed (Governor* of Satsuma, and
three years later settled at Shutsu-yei-zan, whence he subsequently
removed to Eagoshima, which became the Satsuma .Capital from that
time.
It is not until the latter part of the sixteenth century that the
Shimadzu family appear prominently in history. Up to that time a
succession of family feuds prevented the display of that spirit of restless
aggression which subsequently became the principal characteristic of the
clan, and the territories of the Shimadzu were limited to the one province
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of Satsuma. Bat in 1552, under Shimadzu Takahisa, the affairs of the
province became settled, and four years later the clan embarked on the
rapid career of conquest which made it finally master of Kiushiu. In
16J56 Osumi was attacked and quickly annexed. This advance of the
Satsuma frontier brought it to the borders of ltd Yoshisuke*, whose
ancestors had held the greater part of Hiuga since the time of
Yoritomo. It was not long before a border quarrel arose, which was
the beginning of a long struggle between the two chieftains, in the '
course of which now one and now the other held the upper hand.
In 1564 Shimadzu Takahisa received the title of Mutsu ifo Kami.
Seven years later he died and was succeeded by his son Yoshihisa, who
led the clan in the struggle against Hid^yoshi. Following his father's
policy, Yoshihisa devoted himself entirely to increasing the military
strength of the elan. For 15 years his father Takahisa had fought with
ltd in Hiuga without any very decisive result except the gradual ex*
tension of the Satsuma frontier. Under Yoshihisa the feud was prolonged
for seven years more, — each of those years seeing the increase of the
Satsuma power, — until in 1578 the defeat of the allied forces of Otomo
Yoshishige* and ltd Yoshisuke, in the battle of Mimi-gawa, placed
the Shimadzu in undisputed possession of Hiuga. Elated by this
success, he extended his operations to Higo and Hizen, and it became
apparent that he aimed at nothing less than the conquest of the
-whole of Kiushiu. The chieftain who opposed him in these provinces
was Biuzdji Takanobu, who at that time owned the greater part of
Hizen and Higo. He was no match for Shimadzu Yoshihisa, and after
a five years' contest he had lost his possessions in Higo and was driven
to act on the defensive in his own province. In 1584, Shimadzu having
secured an ally in Arima Yoshidzumi, Chief of the district of Shimabara
in the south of Hizen, sent an expedition against Biuzdji under the
command of his brother Iyehisa. The expedition landed at Sukawa-ura
and marched to Shimabara. Here it was attacked by Riuzoji with a
fbrce of 80,000 men.. In the battle which ensued Biuzdji was killed
and his army dispersed. No obstacle then remained to check the
progress of the Satsuma Chief, and his armies overran every province in
Kiushiu except Hizen, where, however, he had allies.
The rapidity with which Satsuma rose to this position in Kiushiu
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is surprising. In 1555 the territories of the clan consisted of the single
province of Satsuma. Thirty years later, when Hideyoshi first prepared
to move against the Satsuma Clan, the Shimadzu were, as stated In the
proud boast of their chief, the lords of eight provinces.
Of the origin of the clan of which Riuzoji Takanobu was the head,
little is to be found in the records which treat of the Kiushiu families.
The head castle of the family was Saga, in the north-east of Hizen, and
' Riuzoji Takanobu first comes into notice as an ally of Mdri Motonari in
his attacks on the Princes of Bungo. We read of him also as constantly
fighting* with the Otomo for the possession of the province of Higo.
When Shimadzu Yoshihisa had crushed the power of the Otomo and
annexed Hiuga, he found that a formidable rival had established himself
on his northern border. This was Riuzoji Takanobu, who had taken
advantage of the Satsuma army being occupied on its eastern frontier to
establish himself in the greater part of Higo. His defeat and death in
the battle of Shimabara has been already mentioned, and the first act of
his son Masaiye\ a prince of little energy, was to apply to Hideyoshi for
assistance.
The weakness of the Court had become, during a century of misrule,
such an acknowledged fact that it was not surprising if the Kiushiu
nobles should resent any exercise of central authority on the part of the
government at Eiydto. A few years before the ascendancy of Satsuma,
and while yet the balance of power was evenly divided, their feelings had
been put to the proof by the arrival of a herald sent by Hideyoshi
with the double object of making a display of his authority and of
obtaining a formal recognition of their allegiance Jto the Crown. The
summons met with little response from the sturdy Barons of the south.
Those who felt least independent contented themselves with expressing
a general sense of their attachment to the Emperor, while questioning the
authority of Hideyoshi to issue orders to them ; — and some, among
whom was the Satsuma Chief, sent no answer whatever to the message.
If Hideyoshi waB mortified at the result of his mission, he did not show
it. He waited, and before long circumstances assisted him in the
attainment of his objects in a way which perhaps he may have
anticipated.
For, as we have seen, a few years changed the aspect of things
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altogether. Instead of three masters in Kiushiu there was one. Satsuma
was triumphant everywhere, and since her victories in the battles of
Mimi-£awa and Shhnabara the absorption of the whole of Kiushiu in the
Satsuma territory appeared only a question of time. Biuzdji Masaiye*
had succeeded* his father in Hizen, and the abdication of Otomo
Yoshishige* raised his son Yoshimun6 to. the leadership of that clan. In
the opinion of these two chiefs the condition of affairs was desperate, and
without hesitation they snatched eagerly at the prospect of assistance
which might reach them from a powerful quarter and appealed for aid
to Hideyoshi.
Warned by his previous failure, the latter's first step was to
ascertain the feelings of the various chieftains in Kiushiu, and agents
for intrigue, empowered to treat with those Barons who were well
disposed towards the court, were secretly distributed throughout the
northern provinces of the island. Their overtures were favorably
received in many places, for the supremacy of Satsuma was viewed with
disfavour by the majority of the lesser nobles, prominent amongst
whom were Tachibana Sakon Shdgen, a leading noble in Chikugo, and
Akidzuki Tan£zan6, who played an important part in the campaign
which was to follow. They were related by no ties of blood to the
Satsuma men, and owned to no dearer connection than that of having
perhaps at some time or other fought side by side in a border feud.
Their independence was reduced to a mere shadow. For some time
past they themselves, their vassals, and all that was theirs had been
at the beck and call of one of the three dominant clans. And now they
were in daily fear of peeing their broad acres incorporated with Satsuma,
and their revenues diverted into her exchequer. So far, the reports of
Hideyoshi's emissaries were encouraging ; — he might, he learnt, look for
allies, by no means contemptible in their way, whose fidelity was
guaranteed partly by actual fear, partly by feelings of clan jealousy.
But he was not disposed to act hastily. The position of Satsuma
was undeniably strong. Osumi and Hiuga were hers by right of
previous conquest and absorption ; she had allies in Hizen ; and her
armies, flushed with success, were then overrunning Chikuzen, Chikugo,
Bungo, Buzeh and Higo.
'Hideyoshi therefore, with his usual caution, hesitated before
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104 GUBBINS: HID&YOSHI AND THE SATSUMA CLAN.
commencing hostilities, and decided to send a second summons to the
Satsuma Prince, which should be in the form of an 'ultimatum. For the
bearer of the message he seleoted Sengoku Gombei Hid£hisa, of whom
we know little beyond the fact that he was of good family and owned
•estates in the Province of Iyo, in Shikoku.
The visit of this special envoy to the Satsuma Capital, and his
interview with the chief of the southern clan forms in itself a highly
dramatic incident. The limits of a paper, however, forbid more than a fyief
allusion to it. The letter delivered by Sengoku condemned the obstinacy
of Shimadzu in refusing to recognize the authority of the Court at
Kiyoto, dwelt in forcible terms on the lamentable state to which the
prolonged civil war had reduced Eiushiu, and called upon the Satsuma
leader to withdraw his troops at once, and having made peace on
suitable terms with his opponents, to visit KiyOto and seek new
patents from the Emperor for his territories. Hid£yoshi offered,
on condition of Shimadzu complying with his summons, to confirm
him in possession of Satsuma and Osumi, and the half of Hiuga,
Higo and Chikugo. The answer of the Prince was brutal and
defiant. He tore up the missive handed to him by the envoy after
hastily scanning its contents, and trampling it under his foot, confined
himself to a verbal reply. In this he justified his own action on the
ground that he had not been the first to provoke hostilities, refused to
recognize in Hid£yoshi anything but an adventurer of low extraction,
who had by questionable means attained a high position in the State
quite incompatible with his merits, and declared his determination to
consider no interests save those of his own clan and subjects, whose
honor was in his keeping. Hideyoshi's offer was dismissed with the
remark that Satsuma had conquered eight provinces, and these she
was determined to hold. For the substance of the answer Hideyoshi
was perhaps not unprepared ; it may be questioned if he quite anticipated
its rudeness. It reached him early in the summer of 1586, and both
sides immediately prepared for the impending struggle, on which the
future of Kiushiu depended.
Being alive to the importance of striking the first blow, and gaining
what advantages he could secure before reinforcements from Hideyoshi
could take the field in sufficient numbers to render a more cautious
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policy necessary, Shimadzu divided his army into two large forces. One
of these, 60,000 strong, under the joint leadership of Shimadzu
Dzusho no Kami and Ijiuin Tadamune\ entered Chiknzen. The other
was intended to complete the conquest of Bungo, and was formed into
three separate divisions. The first division, composed of 15,000 men,
commanded by the Prince in person, moved on Bungo by way of Hiuga,
while the other two advanced on the threa'tened province by way of
Higo. Of the two latter, one was evidently intended to act merely as an
advanced guard to the main body, for it consisted of only 1800 men,
led by the brother of the Prince, Shimadzu Nakatsukasa Taiyu Iy£shisa.
The main army numbered no less than 67,000 men, and was commanded
by Shimadzu Yoshihiro, the heir to the principality, assisted by Niiro
Musashi no Kami, and other generals of repute.
Hideyoshi on his side was not idle. He recognized that he had a
powerful enemy to deal with, and could not afford to risk the cflance of
defeat. Accordingly he caused instructions to be issued to 87 provinces
to supply troops at Osaka by the first month of the following year, and
commenced preparations for the ensuing campaign on a gigantic scale.
He could the more easily do this, as his position in the State was second
to none, and by the end of the year he had reached the summit of his
ambition as a statesman, and was nominated Prime Minister, holding
this post conjointly with that of Regent. As it was necessary, however,'
for some time to elapse before such a large army as he contemplated
forming could take the field, he met the urgent calls for assistance from
Hizen and Bungo by sentiing orders to Mdri Terumoto, the Prince of
Chdshiu, to proceed immediately to the relief of the invaded provinces,
and learning soon afterwards that Mdri's two generals, Kobayakawa
and Kikkawa, had as much as they could do to hold their own on the
northern Ohikuzen frontier, Hideyoshi sent word to Nobuchika, the son
of Chdgokabe* Motochika, Prince of Tosa, to hasten at once to the succour
of Otomo Yoshimune* in Bungo.
The Satsuma army operating in Chiknzen had little difficulty in
reducing the Castle of Iwaya ; and moving westwards rapidly, invested
Tachibanayama, the chief castle of the province, which was defended by
the Prince's eldest son. The garrison was hard pressed, and the
generals of the relieving force, finding that they could not risk a pitched
vol. tux. 14
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106 GUBBINS : HID6YOSHI AND THE SATSUMA- CLAN.
battle with the powerful Satsuma army before them, had recourse to
stratagem. A letter addressed to the commander of the garrison was
written, stating that both Mdri and Hideyoshi had taken the field at the
head of large armies, and might be expected to arrive at any moment,
and the bearer was instructed to allow himself to be captured by the
enemy, but to get as near the castle as possible. The ruse succeeded.
The letter was intercepted, and the Satsuma leaders, fearing for the
safety of their communications, hastily raised the siege, and withdrew
into Higo, within reach of castles friendly to the Satsuma cause.
But in Bongo the Satsuma operations were more successful. The
invaders, moving in the three divisions already mentioned, carried all
before them. In the autumn Otomo was defeated when endeavouring
to relieve the Castle of Toshimitsu, and the Satsuma troops pushing on,
laid siege to Funai, the capital of the province. This, then, was the
situation of affairs in Bungo, when towards the end of the year (1586)
the reinforcements from Tosa arrived at the port of Usuki. The Tosa
prince commanded in person, being unwilling to entrust the charge of
so important an expedition to his son. Otomo hurried to meet him,
and a council of war was immediately held. In spite of his recent
defeat, the Bungo chief was for taking the offensive, and in this
view he was supported by Sengoku Gombei IJid^hisa the late envoy
to the Satsuma capital, who, burning to revenge himself for the
slights he had then received, had been at his earnest request attached
to the expedition in the capacity of military adviser from the court.
His action was in direct opposition to the instructions given him
by Hideyoshi, which were that he was to throw all his weight against
a general engagement being hazarded in the critical position of
affairs. These opinions also found a supporter in another General
named Miyoshi Masayasu Shimodzuke' no Kami, who, influenced by the
memory of former feuds with Chdsokab6, took a pleasure in thwarting
his wishes. The Tosa leader was thus alone in his dissent. He did all
he could in the way of argument to prove to the others Jhat the only
course to be pursued was to act on the defensive, and keeping their
forces concentrated, endeavour to hold the Satsuma army in check until
Mdri, or Hideyoshi, could effect a junction with them. But his warning
fell on deaf ears, and with reluctance he prepared to carry out to the
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best of his ability the rash decision of the council. This was that the
relief of the Castle of Toshimitsu, in which Otomo had failed only two
months before, should again be attempted.
Since their entry into Bungo the distribution of the Satsuma forces
had undergone some alteration. The advanced guard of 1,800 men
under Shimadzu Iy&iisa, constituting the 2nd division, had joined the
3rd division, and half of the latter, which formed, as has already been
shown, the main body of the army, had been sent back to protoct the
communications of tfie invading forces. The division therefore actually
besieging Yoshimitsu was not more than 80,000 strong. It was com-
manded by Iye'hisa Yoshihiro and Niiro Musashi no Kami. Through
their scouts the Generals in the lines before Yoshimitsu heard of the
arrival of reinforcements from Tosa, and of the intention of the allies
to march at once to the relief of the castle. They therefore redoubled
their efforts, and Yoshimitsu was taken by storm ; so when the allies,
20,000 strong, arrived on the banks of the Tosu-gawa, which crossed
their line of march at a point within view of the castle, the Satsuma
pennons waving, on its battlements told them that they had come too
late. Chdsokabe' at once consulted a retreat, but he was overruled, and
it was decided to offer battle the next day.
The battle of Tosu-gawa, as it may be called, was hardly contested.
On the left of the allies were the Bungo forces, while the right was
occupied by the Tosa contingent. The Satsuma troops appear to have
crossed the river and attacked the allies, and by feigning a retreat they
drew the left wing, commanded by Otomo and Sengoku, after them.
Having drawn them some distance in pursuit, they turned, and after a
sharp struggle completely routed them, and drove them back in disorder
upon the right wing. The latter, had held its ground during the whole
day, but on the defeat of the left wing the Tosa leader was obliged to
give the signal for retreat, and in carrying out this movement his son
Nobuchika was killed, while he himself only escaped with a small
remnant of Jiis men. After this defeat Otomo fled from Bungo, and the
province was thus left at the mercy of the invaders.
We thus reach the end of the year 1586, when Hid^yoshi's prepa-
rations were approaching completion. The call for troops from 87
provinces was promptly answered, and at the appointed time 150,000
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men of all arms had assembled at Osaka. .Provisions for twice this
number and fodder for 20,000 horses had been already stored at Kokura
in Buzen, the point where a part of the vast army was to cross the
straits, and whence supplies would be drawn daring the campaign ; and
post-houses for convenience of transport had been established along the
whole route from Kiydto to Shimonoseki. Everything being in readi-
ness, Hid£naga, Hid6yoshifs brother, was sent in advance with the
vanguard of 60,000 men, who consisted of levies drawn from Yamato,
Eawachi, Idzumo, Awa, Sanuki, Mino, Tajima ancr Inaba. This force
set sail from Osaka on the 7th January, 1587, and arrived at Yunoshima
in Bongo on the 19th of the same month. There it was shortly joined
by the two Chdshiu Generals, Eobayakawa and Kikkawa, with 80,000
men, including a contingent furnished by TJkeMa Hid&ye\ lord of the
three provinces of Bizen, Bichiu and Mimasaka, and the united forces,
numbering not less than 90,000 men, advanced on Funai.
Shimadzu appears to have shown no hesitation as to the course to
be adopted. Probably the news of the extensive preparations which were
being made by Hid6yoshi had reacted him, for otherwise it is difficult
to understand why he should have retreated before an enemy numeri-
cally inferior, abandoning his conquests in Bungo and elsewhere
without a struggle. However this may be, he at once issued orders
for a general retreat of all the Satsuma forces. Leaving his brother
Iy£hisa to bring up the rear, he withdrew his army rapidly from Bungo,
and almost before the allies knew of his having left Funai, he was already
across the borders of Hiuga on his return march to Eagoshima.
n.
Hid6naga, on his arrival at Funai, heard of the retreat of the
Satsuma army, and immediately hurried in pursuit. Crossing the Hiuga
border unopposed, he overtook the rear-guard of the Satsuma forces
under Shimadzu Iy6hisa close to the river Hira-kawa. On the other
side of the sjaream was a castle of the same name held by a Satsuma
garrison. It was late in the afternoon when the southern army, only
10,000 strong, observed the approach of the allies, and the General at
once moved his troops down to the river in order to contest the
passage. But the Regent's brother was not disposed to risk an
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GUBBINS: HID&YOSHI AND THE SAT8UMA CLAN. 109
engagement in which the advantage was so palpably on the side of the
enemy, and he accordingly encamped on his side of the stream and
waited for the morning. Stung by the taunts of the Satsuma men,
who dared them to cross the river and shew what mettle they were
made of, the young soldiers of the Imperialist army were solaced as
they bivouacked that night by the thought that early on the following
morning they would be able to cross swords with the foe. But they
were baulked of their expectation. When day broke no enemy was in
sight. Shimadzu Iyeiiisa had withdrawn his troops under cover of the
darkness, and was far on the road to Sadowara. The news of the
enemy's retreat soon spread, and the Imperialists, indignant at what
they conceived to be a trick played upon them, broke up their camp in
hot haste and poured across the river in eager pursuit. About midday
an advanced guard of 800 cavalry came up with the retiring enemy at
a place called Nokiguchi. A brisk engagement ensued, in which the
attacking party secured some advantage, takbg several prisoners. The
main body of the Satsuma army, however, maintained an orderly
retreat, and continued its march to Sadowara without further molesta-
tion from the pursuing force.
Details are wanting of the exact route taken by the Imperialists
after leaving Funai, but the proximity of that town to the coast, taken
in connection with the absence of good roads at that time, particularly
in such a mountainous district ad Hiuga, and the necoessity for a large
force to avail itself of the best and most convenient routes, suggests the
probability that the Satsuma army was retiring before the Imperialists
along the high road which leads from the Satsuma territory along the
sea-coast through Osumi and Hiuga, then traversing the provinces of
Bongo and Buzen, terminates at Kokura on the southern shore of the
Inland Sea. When only 18 miles on the road, the invading army found
an inconvenient obstacle to its further advance in the shape of the
Castle of Takashiro, which stood about 10 miles off the main road. The
natural defences of this place were great, and it had been specially
garrisoned and provisioned by the Satsuma Prince as he fell back on
Eagoshima with his main army. Instead of detaching a force sufficient
to mask this fortress, Hidenaga, contrary to the advice of several of his
generals, — who argued that the dapger of leaving a hostile stronghold
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/
in the rear would be more than counterbalanced by the advantage to be
gained by a rapid advance on the Satsuma frontier, — sat down before it
with his whole army and commenced a regular siege. The garrison
made 'a stubborn defence, but 'the odds against them were great, and
towers having been erected by the besiegers from which they could
enfilade the ramparts, the defenders were forced to abandon the outer
circle of fortifications. But this advantage was all that the besiegers
could gain. One day after a general assault which had failed, when
both sides were equally exhausted, a strange courier rode into the
Imperialist camp with a .letter for Kuroda Yoshitaka, who was in
command of a division posted on the south side of the castle, so as to
guard the approaches from Sadowara. The letter was signed by Shi-
madzu Iy£hisa, and stated that he was marching to the relief of
Takashiro, and on the 28rd instant would offer battle to the allies.
Hidenaga, on being informed of the challenge, did not consider it
advisable to employ his whole army in meeting Shimadzu's threatened
attack. He therefore told off 60,000 men for this duty, and remained
himself with the remaining 80,000 in the lines before Takashiro. He
also caused it to be distinctly understood that on no account were the
two divisions to assist each other. Not being acquainted with the exact
strength of the Satsuma army, the leaders of the troops selected to oppose
Shimadzu took every means to fortify their position. Long rows of
entrenchments were thrown up, trees were felled by the score, and
the fallen trunks disposed so as to form barricades. Within these were
erected towers from which musketeers could play upon the enemy's
ranks while yet at a distance from the entrenchments.
The Satsuma men, by their courage, physique, and dash, had
inspired a wholesome dread in the minds of the mixed levies on the
Imperialist side, and the leader of these latter felt that while they
could individually rely on the devotion of their otm men, the army
generally lacked that mutual sympathy and confidence which it was
desirable should exist in the face of the military prestige of the enemy.
Despite, therefore, the almost certain knowledge of superior strength,
it was with grave doubts as to the issue that the Eiydto forces awaited in
their entrenchments the attack which was hourly expected. We hear
of Mdri, Prince of Choshiu, taking part in the siege of Takashiro,
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GUBBINS: HID6Y08HI and the satsuma clan. Ill
though when he joined Hid6naga is not quite clear. He appears to
have* shared the anxiety of the Imperialist leaders, for on the evening
of the engagement he secretly reinforced Kuroda Yoshitaka with a
contingent of his own troops.
At daybreak on the appointed day the vanguard of the enemy was
seen approaching from the direction of Sadowara. 'Iy^hisa had received
reinforcements since his retreat from the Hira-kawa, and he was now at
the head of 80,000 men. His plan of attack was as follows : — First
came a picked force of 8,000 swordsmen, who were directed to demolish
the entrenchments. Behind these was stationed a body of cavalry in
readiness to charge over the barricades the moment that practicable
breaches had been made. In the rear of the cavalry the main body of
the army was drawn up, while a force of 1,000 men was sent to assail
the Imperialists in the rear. These dispositions were rapidly made, and
the vanguard advanced to the attack with the usual Satsuma elan.
At one point in the entrenchments the Satsuma leaders had recourse to
a stratagem which was probably not uncommonly resorted to in those
days, and reminds one of the tactics of the North American Indians.
While busily engaged in repelling their assailants, the attention of the
defenders was attracted by the figure of a man who, seated on a chair,
appeared to be directing the movements of the attacking party. Conclud-
ing that this must be one of the Satsuma Generals, a hot fire was
proued on the spot. Five times was the object of this concentrated fire
shot off its seat, and each time its place was promptly filled. The
marksmen were congratulating each other upon the accuracy of their
aim, when one, keener-sighted than the rest, discovered that the supposed
General was nothing more than a straw figure placed in a conspicuous
position in order to draw upon it the fire of the defenders. Meanwhile
the assailants had effected a large breach in the entrenchments, and
feigning a retreat they made way for the cavalry, who dashed in and
made themselves quickly masters of this portion of the line of entrench-
ments.
But in spite of the success of the Satsuma force at this point and
elsewhere in the Imperialist positions where they had effected an entry,
they were in the end worsted by a stratagem devised and executed by
a young officer on the staff of Kuroda. At the head of 1,500 men he
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112 . QUBBINS: HIDiTOSHI AND THE SATSUMA CLAN.
made a rapid flank march so as to get between the Satsuma army and
its line of communication with Sadowara, and all the way along his
route he caused paper flags and streamers to be tied to the pine trees,
allowing glimpses of horses* trappings to be seen here and there, so as to
give the appearance, when seen from a distance, of an army on the
march. So in the hour of their expected triumph, when the Imperialists
were being gradually driven from their entrenchments, scouts came in
in hot haste and reported to the Satsuma General that a large force of
the enemy had outflanked them and was clearly on the march to
Sadowara. Iy&isa looked in the direction indicated, and saw what
appeared to oonfirm his scouts* reports. Recognizing the danger of his
position if he were surrounded and cut off from Sadowara, he decided
not to pursue his success an^ further, and gave the signal for an instant
retreat. He was suffered to withdraw unmolested for some distance, but
as soon as it was seen' that the retreat was made in earnest, the
Imperialists dashed out of their entrenchments and charged furiously
upon the retiring foe. At the same moment the Satsuma commander
found himself assailed in the rear by the column whose successful
execution of the stratagem above mentioned had turned the day against
him. Despite his utmost efforts to retire in good order, he saw his
troops gradually losing the steady conformation on which their safety
depended. Outflanked, outnumbered, assailed in front and rear by an
enemy whose strength was unknown, the retreat of the Satsuma army
was only saved from becoming a rout by the gallant conduct of three
chiefs named Ijiuin, Shirakawa, and Hirata. These brave fellows,
seeing the confusion round them rapidly becoming worse, agreed to
make a stand together, each with his band of devoted retainers. The
leaders were the first to fall, but their followers, fired by their example,
scorned to fly, and forming a half-circle round their fallen chiefs,
prepared to dispute the ground inch by inch. Beading of the gallant
stand made by these feudal retainers, we are reminded of the well-known
description of the last fight on Flodden Field, where —
" The stubborn spearmen still made good
Their dark impenetrable wood
Each stepping where his comrade stood
The instant that he fell."
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GTJBBMS- HmiTOBHI AND. THE SATSUMA CLAN. 113
The long Satsuma blades did terrible execution, and for a time the
advance of the enemy was checked. Bat the odds against them were
enormous*. As their ranks were thinned and the enemy closed in on all
sides, there was soon no room for them to use their swords. So the
last man went down, and the tide of pursuit rolled over the spot thus
bravely contested. But the Satsuma army was saved. The short
respite had been all that was required, and with ranks reformed the
Satsuma leader retired in good order on Sadowara.
Details are wanting of the loss sustained by each side in this
engagement, but it is a question *if the Satsuma army lost many more
men than the Imperialists. The first part of the engagement was
decidedly in their favor, and man for man the southern swordsmen were
more than a match for their opponents. * Of the moral effect of the
Imperialist victory there can be no doubt. To have proved that the
southerners were not invincible was a great achievement, and the spirit
of the allies rose in proportion as those of the Satsuma men fell.
After this repulse of the Satsuma army- the Imperialist Generals
again urged Hid6naga to follow up his success and march on Sadowara,
but he refused to stir, alleging that his instructions were to wait until
Hidfyoshi should take the field in Higo, when a simultaneous advance
would be made on the Satsuma frontier. So the whole force reen-
camped before the Castle of Takashiro and proceeded to starve out the
garrison;
It was the 22nd of January before Hid£yoshi left Osaka with his
main army of 180,000 men of all arms, and as such a large force could
not travel quickly, he did not reach Shimonoseki (or Akamagaseki as it
was then called and is sometimes yet) till the 17th February. On the
19th he crossed the straits to Kokura, where he stayed for four or five
days. Here he appears to have held a sort of court, at which he
received all the chieftains in Eiushiu who had declared against Satsuma,
and here also Hidenaga and the other leaders of the Imperialist army in
Hiuga came to meet him and report progress. Having assured himself
of the loyalty of most of the chiefs of northern Eiushiu, Hideyoshi
broke up his camp and proceeded to carry out his plan of campaign.
The Generals of distinction under him were Kato Kiyomasa, Gamo
Ujisato, Fukushima Masanori, and May6da Yasutoshi, whose brother
▼ol. tui. 15
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114 OUBBINS: BCD^TOSHI AND THE SATSUMA .CLAN.
Yoshiiye* had been left to watch over the affairs of the Government at
Kiydto, together with Tokagawa Iyeyasu, during the absence of
Hideyoshi. The position of Yasutoshi seems, therefore, to have been in
a measure that of a hostage. There was also a strategist, Hon
Hidemasa, whose duty was to arrange the military details of the march
and the disposition of the various contingents of which the army was
composed. The route to be followed led Hideyoshi's army to the
Chikuzen frontier. On the other side of the border lay a district hostile ,
to the Imperialist cause. It was held by Akidzuki Tan£zan£, a chieftain
of some mark in Eiushin, who had been one of the first to ally himself
with the Shiznadzu family. Before the army had gone far beyond the
border, it came to the Castle of Ganz&ijd, occupied by *a vassal of
Akidzuki. This place not Being of much importance, it was decided
to leave a force to reduce it, while the main body moved on. But here
a difficulty arose. None of the Generals would consent to be left
behind for this duty. Accordingly lots were drawn, and resulted in
the selection of Gamo Ujisato. The latter with a bad grace took up
his position before the castle, and in a perfect samurai spirit he decided
that it was no part of a gentleman's duty to sit down before a fortress
and quietly blockade the garrison. He would therefore storm it ; and
having ascertained that the garrison was not composed entirely of
fighting men, but included several villagers impressed into the service
of the defenders, he led his men at once to the assault. After a sharp
struggle the castle fell, and no quarter being asked or given, the
garrison was put to the sword. Three only escaped to carry the tidings
to Akidzuki, who was in the castle of Oguma carefully watching the
course of events. On hearing the news thus brought, Akidzuki was
much startled, for he had calculated, on the castle holding out at least
for several days. His first thought was to surrender without striking
a blow, and he justified such a course to himself on the grounds that he
was not originally a vassal of Shimadzu, but only became so by force
of circumstances. On further reflection, however, he decided to defer
his action until he had had an opportunity of estimating Hideyoshi's
strength. He therefore made preparations to resist.
How well Hid£yoshi had informed himself of the state of affairs in
Eiushiu and of the relations between the clans may be gathered from
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GUBBIN8: HIDEYOSHI AMD THE SAT8UIIA CLAN. 115
the address which he issued to his Generals confidentially as he advanced
on Akidzuki's stronghold. "In Akidzuki," he said, " we have to deal
with a man of considerable weight in Kiushiu, and especially in the
province of Chikuzen. In submitting to Shimadzu he only yielded to
superior force, and accepted the situation. The Satsuma cause has in
him, therefore, only a lukewarm adherent. We must take our measures
accordingly, and it would be bad policy in us to attack him vigorously,
for then he might bo compelled to fight. Let us rather make a great
display of our strength, and he will then doubtless submit without
fighting."
These instructions were carefully followed. The army advanced
on the Castle of Oguma in an extended line, conches blowing and flags
flying, and the defenders looking out over the plain and beholding
nothing as far as the eye could see but the waving of banners and the
gleam of armour, acknowledged that this was indeed a mighty host that
had come up against them. Akidzuki and his son shared the general
consternation, but to their surprise the large army whose approach was
witnessed from the ramparts made no assault on the castle, but quietly
encamped within bowshot of the walls. The same night Akidzuki
evacuated Oguma and retreated to another castle. Hideyoshi forbade
any pursuit, being confident that Akidzuki would shortly send in his
submission. His opinion was justified by the result, for before two
days had elapsed a herald arrived bearing Akidzuki's submission. An
ancedote which savours strongly of romance, and is 'only one of a
numerous class illustrating the genius of Hideyoshi and his military
exploits, is told in explanation of Akidzuki's sudden resolution to submit
to Hideyoshi. The latter, it is said, on entering Oguma found that the
defences had been only recently thrown up, the work having been done
with such haste that the finishing coat of white plaster had not been
placed on the walls. He at once gave orders to cover the outer defences
with white paper, which at a distance had the appearance of stucco.
Early the next morning a scout sent out by Akidzuki from the neigh-
bouring castle to reconnoitre returned hurriedly and brought the
astounding intelligence that the defences of Oguma were nearly com-
pleted. He himself had seen hundreds of workmen busily engaged on
the fortifications, and so rapidly had the work progressed that already
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116 GUBBINS: HID&tOSHI AND THE SAT8UMA CLAN.
the whole of the outer defences had been plastered. Akidznki was so
thunderstruck at this proof of the energy of the Regent that he at once
tendered his submission.
His surrender was accepted, and with the wise liberality which
distinguished his action during the whole compaign, Hideyoshi made
-only one condition, — namely, that Akidznki Tanezane* and his son
should follow the vanguard of the army on its march to Satsuma. His
policy may be judged by an address which he issued to the army after
the march south had been continued, and in which he rebuked the over
eagerness of the Imperialist leaders to have a brush with the enemy.
" Shimadzu," so runs the address, " has never yet been hard pressed.
Although many .chiefs have submitted to us, there are still too many
of his adherents in Kiushiu'to permit of our advancing hastily on the
southern strongholds. Let us proceed with caution, and concentrating
our strength, add to it daily by winning over to our side those barons
who are vassals of Shimadzu. Then when Satsuma stands alone, like
a tree shorn of its leaves and branches, we will attack and destroy the
root, and our task will be comparatively easy."
He accordingly remained for some time longer in Ghikuzen, and the
result of his negotiations with the local chieftains and samurai was a
daily increase to his forces (among those who flocked to his standard
being a contingent from the monastery of Hikozan4), and when he
moved to Korazan in Ghikugo his army had swelled to a total little
short of 200,000 men. At Korazan, Akidznki Tanezane* proposed to
Hid£yoshi that while the latter should stay there to rest his army, he
should employ the interval in making a secret expedition to Higo and
Hizen, where he would endeavour to gain adherents to Hide'yoshi's
cause among the local samurai, and thus prepare the way for the
advance of the army. He added weight to his proposal by pointing out
that there was considerable disaffection towards Satsuma among the
samurai of those provinces, who were only waiting for an opportunity to
open negotiations with Hid6yoshi ; they were as people who wished to
cross a river but had no ferry-boat. Hideyoshi was much struck with
the proposal. The views put forward by Akidznki were quite in
4 Not marked in the maps.
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GUBBINS: HIDEYOSHI AND THE SATSUMA CLAN. 117
accordance with his own policy, and in spite therefore of the urgent
requests of his Generals, who sought to persuade him to order a general
advance, he resolved to stay where he was and await the result of
Akidzuki's mission.
Akidzuki lost no time in making his preparations, and set out for
Hizen attended by ap escort of 24 horsemen, leaving his son Tanenaga
as a hostage in the camp at Korazan. In Hizen he easily effected the
object of his journey. He found the samurai of two important districts,
Mateu-ura in the north and Omura in* the south, favorably disposed to
make common cause against Satsumfe, and by his instructions delegates
were at once sent to the camp at Korazan to settle the conditions of
alliance with Hideyoshi. In Higo it was quite a different matter. Here
he had to encounter great difficulties, for the province was occupied by
Satsuma in considerable force. It will be remembered that the army
which had invaded Chikuzen retired into Higo when it gave way before
the Chdshiu reinforcements which were sent to aid the Castle of
Tachibana-yama. This army was now distributed in various places
throughout the' province, forming the garrisons of Mamibe\ Aiko and
other towns. The latter stronghold was held by Ijiuin Tadamune*, and
the former by Niiro Musashi no Kami and Hayata Dewa no Kami, all
three Generals of distinction in the Satsuma army. Rightly concluding
that the movements of a well-known chieftain from another province
could not be concealed from the army of occupation, especially at a
time when the presence of an enemy on the border rendered the utmost
vigilance necessary, Akidzuki resolved to take a bold course. Ac-
cordingly he proceeded at once to the Satsuma headquarters, and
concealing the fact of his submission to Hideyoshi, reported that the
Castle of Akidzuki, the chief stronghold in his district, was being then
besieged, and would surrender in a few days unless relieved. His
hearers had no reason to doubt the sincerity of his representations, and
the Chikuzen chief left, taking with him promises of speedy help to the
beleaguered garrison. On his way back he opened negotiations with the
local samurai of the districts through which the invading army would
pass, and by dwelling on the irresistible strength of the vast host that
would soon overrun Higo, and drawing comparisons unfavorable to the
Satsuma rule, he succeeded in gaining many allies for Hideyoshi.
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118 GtJBBINS: HID&YOSHI and the satsuma clan*
Under the feudal system these local samurai played no insignificant
part in the politics of Japan. It is easy to conceive that three centuries
ago they formed a much larger proportion of the population than they
do now, and were therefore a more important factor in the State. In
those times of political disturbance, when the only right to possession
was the power to hold, people had no inducements to adopt settled
occupations, and the class of swashbucklers was naturally very
numerous. Unable to maintain an independent position, these samurai
were led by motives of self-preservation to attach themselves to
the banner of some noble of the day. And as the fortunes of their
patrons changed with the hour, when the ability to protect no longer
existed they transferred their allegiance without hesitation to another
quarter, and the master' of to-day became the enemy of to-morrow.
They had thus no fixed political bias, but were time-servers of necessity,
always trimming so as to be on the winning side. This was the case in
Eiushiu at the period of which we are speaking. The civil war which
had raged for so long in the southern island saw these samurai continu-
ally changing their allegiance. As long as the Princes of Bongo and
Hizen were able to hold their own against Shimadzu, they could always
count on the assistance of several hundred blades wielded by men whom
the guerilla warfare of the times had seasoned and inured to the hard-
ships of a military campaign. • But with the establishment of Satsuma
supremacy these sworded gentry quickly deserted the fallen fortunes of
their former patrons, and declared themselves vassals of the ruling
powers of the day. During the short period that Euishiu lay at the feet
of Shimadzu, he had no more obsequious adherents than these local
samurai, whose policy could so conveniently adapt itself to circum-
stances. But the arival of Hideyoshi at the head of a powerful army,
and the simultaneous retreat of the Satsuma forces were the signal for
an immediate defection from the Satsuma cause. The Satsuma crest
was hastily exchanged for the Imperial insignia, and the lately obedient
vassals awaited with eagerness the arrival of the great force which was,
to quote their own words, " to free them from the yoke so recently
imposed."
When, therefore, Niiro and Ijiuin, believing the statements of Akidzuki,
called upon the samurai of the various districts in the north of Higo to -help
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OUBBINS: HTDtYOSHI AND THE SATSUMA CLAN. 119
them raise the siege of the Castle of Akidzuki, few came forward in response
to the appeal, and from most the astonishing reply was sent that the
samurai in question were allies of the great General Hideyoshi. Nor
was this disaffection confined to one or two districts. Rumours of
seditious movements reached them from all sides, and it needed no
sagacity to perceive that at the first opportunity a general rising would take
place against the Satsuma Clan. There was every reason, therefore, for
the Generals to concentrate their forces while they were able to do so.
This they did, and evacuating the two castles they had been holding up
to that time, they fell back towards the Satsuma frontier. The movement
was made none too soon, as the event proved. The samurai of the
south of Hizen, anxious to shew zeal in the cause of their new ally, fitted
out an expedition, and landing in Higo, laid seige to the town of Yatsushiro.
The retreat of the Satsuma army was hastened by this news, and the
Generals in command hurried to the relief of the garrison. On their
march they were much harassed by bodies of Higo samurai, who rose
in each district and village as soon as the Satsuma troops had left it.
The garrison was relieved without difficulty, but the whole province was
now up in arms against Satsuma, and in spite, therefore, of its stra-
tegical importance, Yatsushiro was abandoned and a general retreat
became necessary. The army did not stop till it had reached Oguchi
and was well within the borders of its native province.
In the general rising against Satsuma among the samurai of Hizen
and Higo, Hideyoshi saw a proof of the success of Akidzuki's mission,
and he accordingly gave orders for a general advance. Detaching two
divisions under Fukushima Masanori and Katd Eiyomasa to reduce the
two castles of Akaboshi and Eoshiro, which still held out for Shimadzu,
he made a rapid march with the main army to Yatsushiro, where he
halted. Both castles were quickly taken, and the forces detached
against them joined Hideyoshi at Yatsushiro.
Fortune did not favor the Satsuma arms elsewhere. The Prince and
his son Yoshihiro were with the main army in the south of Hiuga when
the news of the blockade of Takashiro and the defeat of the force which
had proceeded to its relief under Iyehisa reached them. And soon after
they ' learnt that the garrison of that castle, despairing of succour, had
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120 OUBBINS: HID&YOSHX AND THE SATSUMA CLAN.
surrendered. Under these circumstances there was nothing for it but
to carry oat their original plan, and they accordingly fell back on the
capital, leaving Iy£hisa to establish himself in the Castle of Sadowara,
and thus check the advance of the enemy through Hiuga. At Eagoshima
more bad tidings awaited them, for they there heard of the withdrawal
of the Satsuma army from Higo ; and in view of the critical state of affairs,
it was agreed that a general council of war should be held to discuss what
measures were best for the defence of the province. An order was accord-
ingly sent to Oguchi (to which place it will be remembered the Higo
army had retired) to summon the Generals to attend the council. The
receipt of this order led to a spirited discussion between the commanders.
Ijiuin suggested that the order was imperative and that the army must
be at once withdrawn to Eagoshima there to await the result of the
deliberations. Niiro, however, stoutly refused to move. " The army
must stop here," he contended, "and dispute the passage of the
Chiyo-gawa. No enemy has ever before crossed the Satsuma border,
and never shall as long as I am here to prevent it. Po you go. I will
stay." To this Ijiuin retorted that the enemy was not likely to arrive
so very quickly, and that they would have time to return if the council
decided to meet the invaders at Oguchi. " But," said Niiro, « the
possibility remains. He may come, and if he finds no one here to
receive him, of what use, think you, will Our deliberations be at Eago-
shima— a hundred miles off? Hidtyoshi has a reputation for swift
action in a campaign, and he may arrive at any moment. In warfare a
General should be guided by circumstances — not only by his orders.
My duty his here, and I shall remain." His arguments prevailed in the
end, and Ijiuin and Masahisa proceeded to the capital, leaving Niiro on
the banks of the Chiyo-gawa with his 20,000 men.
No sooner had they left than Niiro crossed the river and took up a
position on the other side. Being expostulated with on the way in
which he had drawn up his army, with the river behind instead of in
front of him, he replied that he had done so with the object of deceiving
the enemy. " Hideyoshi," he said, " always goes to the root of things,
and is accustomed to find a reason for everything. On seeing the way
in which our forces are disposed, he will suspect the existence of some
stratagem. His suspicions will be imparted to the Generals under him,
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oubbtns: mpftYosm and the satsuma clan. 121
and by them to the whole, army. His men will, through fear of a
surprise, fight half-heartedly, and by a bold attack we can count upon
defeating them."
The Council of war at the Satsuma Capital was very numerously
attended, and its members included every male relation of the Prince,
for on such a momentous occasion, when none knew at what instant
the enemy might not be reported on the border, or signalled on the coasts,
it wbs fitting that the course to be pursued should be put to the general
vote of the clan. The question at issue was whether the passage of the
frontier by the enemy should be disputed, or whether the Satsuma troops
should be withdrawn to some defensible position nearer the capital,
where the issue of the campaign should be decided. After a short
debate Niiro's plan of action was unanimously approved, and it was
settled that Ijiuin should at once return to the Chiyo-gawa with 80,000
men in order to cover Niiro's retreat if he were compelled to retire,
while the young Prince Yoshihiro was to take up a position about eight
miles to the north of the capital, where he was to await the result of the
engagement. Ijiuin lost no time in marching back to the Chiyo-gawa,
and. he was just able to inform Niiro of the assistance he might look for
when the outposts reported the approach of the enemy.
Hideyoshi was, as Niiro had predicted, nearer than was expected.
At Yatsushiro he had been joined by Biuzdji Masaiy6, Prince of Hizen,
who brought him in considerable reinforcements, and from that place
he made a rapid march on Sashiki. Here he quickly collected a fleet of
boats and transported his immense army by sea to the north-west of
Satsuma, where it landed unopposed at the end of April. The ordinary route
by sea would take the expedition to Akur£, and we shall probably not be far
wrong if we accept the neighbourhood of that place as the point of dis-
embarkation. Hideyoshi was now established in Satsuma territory. Leav-
ing a force of 60,000 men in readiness to proceed by sea to Kagoshima if
necessary, he pushed forward rapidly with the remainder of the army,
170,000 men, and on the morning of the 26th of March he came in
Sight of the Chiyo-gawa, and the Satsuma army, which was drawn up
to dispute the passage. The position taken up by the Satsuma General
will be understood by a reference to the map. It will be seen that the
Kawachi-gawa, which is evidently the Chiyo-gawa of our history,
tol. nu. • 16
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122 gubbins: hid&yoshi and the satsuma clan.
. traverses the province from east to west, falling into the sea near a
place called Kiyodamari. This river forms a natural barrier to any force
approaching the capital from the north. It was on its farther bank and
close to the sea that Niiro was posted.
That a force of inferior strength should prefer to fight with the
river in its rear was a puzzle to every military man in the Imperialist
army. To Hid£yoshi's mind it vfas capable of solution in only one way.
The Satsuma leader, he concluded, must have some stratagem in
reserve. But though he rode forward and personally reconnoitred the
position, he could see no signs that any particular stratagem was in
contemplation, and a careful inspection revealed nothing suspicious. So
he gave the order to advance, accompanying it with a caution to the
commanders to engage the enemy in separate divisions as their turn
came, and on no account to allow themselves to be drawn into a pell
mell encounter.
On came the huge army, its two wings overlapping the flanks of
the Satsuma force ; but when within half a mile of the river it stopped,
and the leaders could be seen busily engaged in forming their men into
the order in which the battle was to be commenced. Seeing the enemy
apparently hesitating, Niiro gave the signal to his men, and at the head
of 5,000 charged into the thick of the Eiydto army before it had time to
reform its rankB. Thus taken at disadvantage, the resistance was feeble
and the first line broke and scattered in disorder. Pressing on, Niiro
engaged the second line, which consisted of the Hizen and Chikuzen
contingents under Riuzoji and Akidzuki, and here again. the impetuous
rush of the Satsuma men carried all before it. By this time the
Satsuma leader was well into the centre of the Eiydto army, and flushed
with his success he resolved, in spite of the knowledge that his men must
be spent with their exertions, to make a dash for Hidfyoshi's standard.
But before he could get within reach of this he had to meet and dispose
of the flower of the Eiydto army, a force more than double his own
strength under Fukushima and Katd. Niiro's men were tired; the
troops they now met were fresh, and the issue of the struggle was not
long in doubt. At the first shock the southerners wavered, and in a
few moments they began to give way. When it was clear that they
could not hold their own any longer, the 15,000 men forming the
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OUBBINS: HIDEY08HI AND THE 8AT8UMA CLAN. 128
remainder of the Satsuma force on that side of the river came to their
assistance, and the action became general. The two armies soon
became so mixed np that it was hard to tell -friend from foe, and what
Hidtyoshi had wished to avoid was thus forced upon him. Bat though
the skill of the Satsama swordsmen told in the hand-to-hand struggle,
the superiority of numbers made itself, felt, and step by step the
southerners were forced back on the river. In the height of the
engagement, however, Ijiuin, who had observed the critical state of
things from his position on the other side of the Chiyo-gawa, dashed
across at the head of a picked body of cavalry and threw himself on
the right flank of the enemy. While the Imperialists turned their
attention to this new foe, the Satsuma leader profited by this diversion
to commence a retreat across the river. But the enemy did not allow
this movement to be carried out unopposed, and swooping down with
*
fresh levies, the struggle recommenced* with renewed fury. Its chief
incident was a personal combat between Katd Eiyomasa and Niiro
Musashi no Kami, in which the latter, by the fall of his horse, was
placed at the mercy of his antagonist, who generously refused to take
advantage of the accident. The fight lasted till darkness set in, when
the Imperialist Generals recalled their men, and the Satsuma army
retired in a shattered condition across the river without further
molestation. The victory, such as it was, rested with Hid£yoshi, for
although the Satsuma men had held the river against superior numbers,
their loss in the battle was heavier than that of the allies, and they were
obliged to abandon their line of defence.
The news of this ineffectual attempt to arrest the progress of the
enemy travelled rapidly to Kagoshima, but the Satsuma chiefs, though
discouraged, by no means despaired of success. The country through
which the invading army had to advance was ill-adapted to the progress
of a large force. TJftiat roads there were lay over high passes and in
deep ravines, and they might therefore fairly argue that the superior
knowledge of the . locality possessed by the defenders would render it a
matter of no great difficulty to prosecute a guerilla warfare with every
chance of success. But in thus confidently awaiting the 'enemy's advance
they .were unaware that he had already taken means to obtain an
intimate knowledge of the district which lay before him, and even of the
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neighbourhood of Kagoshima. To explain how Hideyoshi gained this
information it will be necessary to go back a little hi the history
of events.
The design of invading Satsnma and of placing a curb on her
ambitious policy had been in Hideyoshi's mind some years before, and
at that time one of the reasons which induced him to postpone his action
was his ignorance of the actual condition of the province and of its
geography. With the object, therefore, of acquiring knowledge on these *
points, he had in the previous year enlisted the services of the chief
priest of the Shin sect of Buddhists, a man named Eenniyo Kdsa. He
was one of the few who, during the long struggle between Nobunaga and
the priesthood, had maintained a successful opposition. Half monk,
half warrior, as the times made him, he stubbornly held his own, while
on every side monasteries were sacked and their defenders put to the
sword, till at length his skill in the field and fertility of resource won him
the respect of his opponents, and by a silent compromise he was left at
liberty to devote his attention to the religious interests of the sect for
whose independence and very existence he had laboured so strenuously.
This was the man whom Hideyoshi had singled out to assist him in
gaining information about Satsuma, and the result showed the wisdom
of his selection. Won over, doubtless, by promises of rich endowments
in the event of the enterprise being successful, the abbot was
induced to proceed to Satsuma, — ostensibly on business connected with
the religious affairs of his sect, — in reality to conceal a party of spies
sent by Hideyoshi to learn the secrets of the province. There were
several establishments of the Shin sect throughout Satsuma. One of
these was in the small island of Shismjima,* within easy reach of
Kagoshima, and in this, probably on account of its secluded position,
and its proximity nevertheless to the capital, the abbot took up his
residence. The dignity of his position was supported by a retinue of 56
persons, which included two emissaries of Hideyoshi named Hirano
^agayasu and Kasuya Kadzumasa. No suspicions, appear to have
attached to his arrival. He was cordially greeted by the Prince of
Satsuma, and busied himself with religious ceremonials and lectures on
the mysteries of Buddhism. Meanwhile, under cover of their clerical
• Not marked in the maps.
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disguise and of the enthusiasm eyoked by the presence of so eminent
an ecclesiastic, the spies circulated freely all over the province and
made themselves intimately acquainted with its geography and the affairs
of the clan.
Hirano and his confederates had been absent for about a year
when Hideyoshi opened his campaign, and from that moment their
first thought was how they could leave Satsuma and communicate the
result of their investigations to Hideyoshi. There were many obstacles
in the way. In the first place they had come with the abbot, and
having passed for members of his suite it was impossible for them to
leave him without exciting suspicion as to their movements. And
secondly, the prince, as soon as he had entered on the struggle with
Hideyoshi, had issued strict orders prohibiting any one resident in
Satsuma from crossing thfe borders. So they had to wait and watch
the course of events. Beforo long, to their great delight, they heard of
Hid6yoshi's triumphant march, and of his arrival at Kiyodomari, and
recognizing the importance of their seeing him before he made his final
move on the Satsuma Capital, they begged the abbot to leaxre the island
at once and* proceed with them to Kiyodomari. Kdsa consented, and
calling together the priests of the monastery, he signified to them his
desire to return. He was not alarmed, he said, by the critical condition
of the province, "but in the present unsettled state of affairs his efforts in
the cause of religion were thrown away ; — he felt, moreover, that his
presence was a source of solicitude to his parishioners, and he desired
to relieve them of that anxiety by going away and waiting for quieter
times. His wishes were at once complied with. As travelling by land
was out of the question, owing to the vigilance with which the borders
were guarded to prevent egress from the province, while it was also
essential that their departure should be kept secret from the Satsuma
authorities, it was arranged that the journey should be made- by sea.
The necessary preparations were quickly completed, and. one dark night
a small fleet of boats left the island unobserved and put out to sea,
having the abbot and his suite on board and an escort of monks to
shew them the shortest route. It had been agreed that the party should
be conveyed beyond the limits of Satsuma, but the abbot persuaded the
guides, much against their will, to land them at Kiyodomari. On their
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arrival the spies at once waited on Hideyoshi, and explaining how they
had succeeded in escaping from Satsuma, supplied him with the
information they had collected daring their stay.
Hideyoshi then called the abbot to his presence and thanked him
for his assistance, but to the latter' s request to be allowed to return to
Kiyoto he replied : — " Wait ; I have yet need of you. What you have
done for me amounts after all to very little, for you were forced to leave
Satsuma before your work was completed. But there is one way in
which you can render me valuable service. I will not ask you to
fight, — although men do say you are no bad hand at it, as Nobunaga
found to his cost, — for I have no wish to hurt your feelings. What I
desire you to do is this. I have formed a certain scheme for the proper
execution of which a special knowledge of the locality is required. The
monks of Shishijima who brought you here have that knowledge. I
wish you to guarantee that they will obey my orders. Wtien I am
satisfied of this I will communicate the details." The abbot, who had
looked, distressed at Hid£yoshi's allusions to his military exploits,
answered that if Hideyoshi would summon the priests of Shishijima, he
would secure their acquiescence in any orders which might be imparted
to them. The priests were therefore conducted to Hideyoshi' s presence,
where, to their amazement, they heard from their abbot that they
were to assist in the execution of a scheme which was devised by a
hostile invader, and which had for its object the subjugation of their
native province. But sectarian discipline triumphed over patriotism,
and their consciences were doubtless satisfied when they replied : — " The
commands of Hideyoshi are not binding upon us ; — those of the head of
our sect we will implicitly follow." Thus assured of their obedience
to the abbot, Hideyoshi clapped his hands, and at the signal a retainer
stepped into the apartment, and unfolding a roll of paper read the
following address : —
"His Excellency Hideyoshi's intentions in coming to Eiushiu are
not to destroy Shimadzu, but to restore tranquillity to the country, and
to establish peace within the four seas. This is the reason why last year
he sent a messenger to direct Shimadzu to repair to Kiydto. But
Shimadzu disobeyed this order, and stirring up disturbances in Kiushiu,
took pleasure in civil war, paying no regard to the interests of the
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people. Consequently orders were issued by His Majesty the Emperor
that Sfaimadzn was to be punished, and His Excellency was obliged
to enter Kiushiu. Still even now if Shimadzu submit, His Excellency is
mercifully minded to forgive his past offences, and although there is
no present appearance of submission on Shimadzu's part, and he con-
tinues to resist obstinately, His Excellency, in the exercise of extra-
ordinary clemency, and in order not to waste more valuable lives in this
struggle, desires to make a final effort to bring him to reason. You are
therefore required to serve as guides to the army, in order that the troops,
advancing by a secret road unguarded by the defenders, may take the
Satsuma army by surprise, and forte it to surrender without further
bloodshed. Say, 'good Sirs ! Will you, out of regard for the noble
House which rules over you, and love for your abbot give your services
as guides to the expedition and swear to act faithfully by His
Highness? Your refusal will involve the clan of Satsuma and the
Family of Shimadzu in common ruin : your consent will save the lives
of thousands."
The abbot supported the address in a few words: — " My friends,1'
said he, " do not the precepts of Buddha teach that evil is to be punished
and good encouraged ? The men of Satsuma are obstinate and do not
understand what is right. To turn them away from their evil ways,
and place them in the right path is to do what the gods will approve.1'
Thus urged, the priests of Shishijima consented. " Certainly,?'
they said, " we will act as guides, and Buddha shall see that we make
no mistakes ;" — and they swore to be true to their promise. •
HI.
Everything at this stage of the campaign was going well for
Hidlyoshi. He had arrived within easy reach of the Satsuma Capital
after an almost unopposed march through the island, his negotiations
with the other princes in Kiushiu had succeeded beyond the most
sanguine expectations, and his. relations with the local samurai and their
leaders were satisfactory ; he had met his spies and learnt from them
the result of their investigations into the internal condition of Satsuma,
guides were at hand to assist in the final advance on Eagoshima, and
now he received further encouragement in the arrival at the camp at
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Taihegi of his brother the Dainagon Hidenaga, who brought with him
as prisoner Shimadzu Nakatsukasa no Taiyu Iy&iisa. This Satsuma
General, it will be remembered, was last heard of as defending the
Hiuga border. After the battle of the Mimi-gawa and the fall of
Takashiro, he fell back on Sadowara and maintained himself in that
castle in spite of the utmost efforts of the besiegers. The fortress was
strong and well provisioned, 'so Iy6hisa had nothing to fear on this
score ; and if he had heard nothing of what was happening in other
parts of Kiushiu, he would probably have continued to hold out. But
having no reverses to conceal, the besiegers took care to keep him
acquainted with everything that passed. He heard in this way how
the Satsuma troops had been driven out of Higo and Hizen, of the
triumphant march of Hideyoshi, and of the enemy's unopposed
occupation of Satsuma territory ; and as each fresh piece of intelligence
reached him he fumed and fretted until his position became intolerable.
Sadowara was the last stronghold in Hiuga which held out for
Satsuma. The enemy was all round him, had crossed the border and was
harrying the Satsuma homesteads before his eyes. In this extremity
he resolved to yield, in the hope of finding some opportunity later on to
escape to Satsuma territory with a portion, if not the whole, of his force.
He therefore sent a message to Hidenaga offering to surrender, adding
that if his surrender were refused, he would lead his men out, and die
fighting in the ranks of the besiegers. The offer took Hidenaga by
surprise. His knowledge of the resources of the garrison, and of the
fighting qualities of their commander, made him doubt its sincerity.
But at the council of war which was held to consider, the proposal, the
arguments of Kobayakawa Takakag6, the General on whom Hidenaga
chiefly relied, were convincing. He pointed out that whatever designs
Iy£hisa might have, from the moment of his surrender they could be
frustrated by the exercise of ordinary vigilance. The fall of the castle
would enable them to advance and join Hideyoshi, and it would be
a lasting disgrace if they were to remain inactive under the walls of
Sadowara whilst Hideyoshi fought his way into the Satsuma capital.
So Iy£hisa's offer was accepted. Hostages were sent to the camp
of the Imperialists, and mustering his garrison for the last time, he
opened the gates of Sadowara and came out to meet Hidenaga. The
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castle was at once occupied by the Imperialists, and Hid£naga harried
off to Hideyoshi's camp to present his prisoner. Shortly after their
arrival Iye*hisa was summoned to the Regent's presence, and met the
fetter's remark that he had not shown his reputed sagacity in delaying
his submission so long, with an offer to go to Kagoshima and persuade
the prince to surrender. This startling proposal was received with
derision and indignation by Hideyoshi's Generals. One and all declared
their belief that it was but a ruse to regain his liberty : if the bird was
let go it would never return to its cage. But Hideyoshi, much to their
surprise, took a different view of the case. " You speak like a soldier,"
he said. " Go and endeavour to bring Yoshihisa and Yoshihiro to us.
If you cannot induce them to surrender, return and prove the falseness
of the suspicions cast on your good faith."
Iy£hisa started on his errand, overjoyed at having regained his
liberty of action so easily, being attended only by a body-guard of 20 men.
Travelling rapidly, he reached his nephew's camp near Kagoshima, and
the two proceeded together to the capital. There a secret conference
was held between the three leading men of the Satsuma clan. Iy6hisa
was prepared to be received with reproaches, and hastened to explain
the reasons for his surrender. In his isolated position at Sadowara he
was powerless. All his communications were cut off by the enemy, and
the Higo samurai, following at the heels of the invaders, had poured into
Hiuga and aggravated the position. For if by any chance the bearer of
a despatch succeeded in running the gauntlet of the besieging forces,
he was sure to be intercepted by one or other of these hostile bands.
Under these circumstances he decided to surrender, trusting to have an
opportunity of communicating with his toother, and learning his plans,
in order to be able, to further their execution. This opportunity he had
now got, and he was there to hear from the lips of his prince what his
arrangements for the defence of the capital were. " But why desert
your men ?" interrupted the prince. " Had I no .care for their lives I
should have fought my way out of Sadowara," was the reply. " My
men are with Hideyoshi, and I shall rejoin them* when my business here
is finished." He then, listened attentively while the prince and his son
retailed the plan by which he hoped to lead the Imperialist army into
an ambush aa soon as it crossed the river. The road on the
vol. vra. 17
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130 GUBBINS: HIDETOSHI AND THE SATSUMA CLAN.
Kagoshima side of the Chiyo-gawa* led through a thick forest, and for
some miles was nothing hat a bridle path. It then suddenly widened,
opening on to a broad lerel meadow; from this point the road as
suddenly narrowed again, and led over a succession of passes, till it
finally debouched on to the plain where Yoshihiro had taken his stand
with the bulk of the Satsuma army. The invading army was to be
suffered to cross the 'river without molestation. It was then to be
decoyed into the narrow path by advanced bodies of skirmishers, who
were to offer sufficient resistance to lead the enemy to regard them as
placed there to harass their line of march. Meanwhile a large force
was to lie in ambush on each side of the road, whilst a third body was
stationed on the other side of the broad opening in the middle of the
forest. At a given signal, when the Imperialists had advanced as far as
they were to be permitted, the brush was to be fired on all sides, — for
which purpose bundles of faggots ready cut and dried were already
stacked in different places, — the party in ambush would dash in on
the extended line of the Imperialists, and the enemy, surrounded on all
sides and blinded by the smoke, would be caught in a trap from which
no escape was possible. This plan, if properly carried out, was, in the
opinion of the narrators, certain of success. Iy£hisa did not take such
a sanguine view. . His experience of the Imperialist army led him to
believe that the military discipline of the enemy would render such a
plan difficult and hazardous in execution. Finding, however, that his
brother and nephew were full of confidence, he agreed to help them to
the best of his ability. "I will return now," he added, "and tell
Hideyoshi you are deaf to all remonstrance. I will say that the castle
is plentifully provisioned and can hold out for several years if necessary,
and that you are prepared to fight to the Jast. In fact I will draw
such a picture of Kagoshima and our army that he will be impatient
to advance and try conclusions with such a stubborn opponent. The
battle once begun in earnest, I will collect my men, and making a
sudden onslaught on Hideyoshi, seize him and carry him prisoner to
Kagoshima." His brother urged him to think of his own safety, and
to consider whether it would not be better to forfeit his parole and fight
in the army before Kagoshima. But to this Iy6hisa would not listen :
" My word is pledged to return. I cannot break faith with our enemy ;
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GUBBINS: HIDEYOSHI AND THE SAT8UMA CLAN. 181
and as to safety, dangerous as it *may seem to be in the hands of the
enemy, I am safer there than, anywhere else, and can escape when
I like."
The conference then broke up. Iy&isa went back to the camp at
Taiheiji and Yoshihiro to his position before the capital to prepare for
the final straggle which was to decide the issue of the campaign.
Meanwhile at Hideyoshi's camp the various Generals were loud in
condemnation of the poKcy which had allowed so important a prisoner
to escape ; for so they called it, not thinking he would return. But the
loader their murmurs, the firmer the confidence of their chief. " There
may be more," he would say, " in Iy^hisa's submission than meets the
eye ; but he is not the man to imperil the lives of his soldiers who are
here as hostages. He most return and he will, — for is he not a valiant
soldier of Satsuma, and one of the Shimadzu Family ? Let him plot.
I will counterplot, and you shall see who will win.
As we know, Iy^hisa did return, and redeemed his pledge. It was
enough for him that he had kept to the letter of nis promise. That he
•had solemnly agreed to be the bearer of overtures for the surrender of
the clan, and had seized the opportunity to intrigue against his captors ;
that by this misuse of his liberty he had grossly violated the spirit of his
engagement, — these considerations weighed for nothing with the Satsuma
leader. Treachery towards enemies was sanctioned by the morality of
the times, and we may be disposed to view his conduct the more leniently
if we reflect that throughout the double game he was playing his life
was the forfeit if detected. It required no little boldness to follow the
course he had adopted ; but Iy&risa was equal to the occasion. His
report to Hideyoshi of the results of his «nission amounted to this : — The
negotiations had failed ; both the prince and his son were obstinate in
their determination to resist to the last extremity ; — it was in vain that
he had represented to them that the very existence of the clan was
imperilled ; he had been chased away with reproaches for disloyalty
and cowardice. " It now only remains for you," Iy6hisa added, " to
carry out your intentions."
"Yes," said Hideyoshi; "I suppose there is nothing for it but
to carry the matter through by force of arms. As you know the country
you will do us the favor to precede the army." But to the amazement
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of all who hear J, Iy^hisa declined. * His refusal roused Hidenaga, who
had throughout been loudest in his suspicion's of the prisoner's good
faith, and he burst in with, — " According to the law of surrender, the
person so surrendering is bound to make proof of the sincerity of his
submission by fighting in the vanguard. It is strange that you decline
to" follow this universal custom.1' " You are probably right as regards
general cases," was the answer, "but mine is an exceptional one.
I surrendered simply in order to save my clan* and I have kept my
word under circumstances which made it hard for me to do so. I was
sorely tempted to throw in my lot with the rest, but I refrained, because
I desire to save a remnant of the clan from the general destruction.
Do not, then, urge me to commit the blackest of all crimes by
fighting in the vanguard against my brother, my relatives and my lord.
If you insist, you send me to my death ; for I shall not survive the
disgrace."
• This appeal was not without effect, for-Hideyoshi at once excused
his attendance on the vanguard. But as Iy£hisa withdrew, the com-
mander-in-chief turned to his staff and said : — *' This is a dangerous
fellow ; he is not like an ordinary traitor. To have charge of him is
like making a pet of a tiger. He must be carefully watched, or we
shall suffer for our imprudence."
The Satsuma army under Niiro, Ijiuin and Tanegashima, to which
was entrusted the* task of carrying out the plan for the defeat of the
invading forces related to Iy^hisa during his visit to Eagoshima, lay
within reach of the enemy ; the bulk of their forces being concealed in
a thick forest a short distance from the Chiyo-gawa. Seeing an unusual
movement in the Imperialist camp, which they interpreted as the prelude
to an advance across the river, the Satsuma leaders made the necessary
arrangements for the execution of their stratagem, and in obedience to
orders *a body of 8,000 men under Tanegashima moved out in the
direction of the hostile camp with the object of commencing a skirmish.
The Imperialists, whom their recent successes had inspired with con-
fidence, were quite willing to accept the challenge, and in spite of the
cautions of their leaders some of the wilder spirits dashed forward and
engaged a portion of the Satsuma force. Others soon followed, and the
figtit became general. Tanegashima at once commenced to retreat, and
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when reinforcements, sent by Hideyoshi to recall those troops already
engaged, came up, the Satsuma men, in obedience to orders, broke and
fled. The Imperialists dashed after them, and in the excitement of the
moment, neglecting their proper duties, the reinforcing battalions joined
eagerly in the pursuit. The forest was entered, and while some of the
pursuers followed the path, others made their way as best they could
through the brushwood. When the open meadow was reached, the
Satsuma men, without attempting to reform, dashed across it and
into another narrow path on the further side. Their pursuers, who
were by this time without formation of any kind, followed them
headlong till they were suddenly brought up by a barricade of logs of
wood thrown across the path, and held by a body of archers, who met
them with a shower of arrows. As they turned back in confusion the
forest resounded with shouts and warlike signals, and it seemed to the
bewildered Imperialists as if each thickot was alive with unseen foes.
To add to their distress, torches were applied by hidden hands to the
bundles of brushwood, and the smoke from the burning trees choked
and blinded them. But the main object of the stratagem was defeated,
for owing to recent heavy rains the brushwood would not take fire
easily, and for the most part only smouldered. The Imperialists were
thus able to retreat, thought not without loss. A sharp struggle took
place in the meadow, where the retreating forces found a body of the
enemy who had been posted in ambush drawn up to oppose them.
Thanks, however, to the timely arrival of reinforcements under Katd,
Fukushima and Gamo, the Satsuma troops were forced to give way.
The southern Generals were for once humiliated by the failure of their
carefully arranged stratagem, and with sinking hopes they fell back in
the direction of the main army. At the council of war which followed,
the Satsuma counsels were divided. Niiro, always an advocate for
bold measures, proposed an immediate attack on the Imperialists with
the whole effective strength of the clan, and this proposal found
many supporters amongst younger and more enthusiastic officers.
Others, however, foremost of whom was Ijiuin, argued that it
was madness to offer battle in the open, when by simply acting
on the defensive they had on their side the advantages of a know-
ledge of the country and a choice of positions which were almost
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impregnable. These more cautious views were accepted by the majority,
and accordingly the Satsuma leaders, in ignorance of the treachery by
which they were to be taken unawares by a simultaneous attack on
their flank and rear-guard, concentrated their troops to the north of
Kagofthima in positions favorable to the defence of the main approaches
to the capital. Yoshihiro took up a position about seven miles distant
from the capital, and in front of him, and separated from the main
army by only two miles, four divisions of 5,000 men each, under Niiro,
Ijiuin, Tan£gashima and Machida, were posted at strong points on the
hills to right and left of the main road. The prince himself remained
in the castle with the remainder of his army. Leaving the Satsuma
leaders to make their arrangements for the last stand against the
invader, we will return to Hid£yoshi, who had completed his disposi-
tions for the final advance upon Kagoshima.
The end of the campaign was not far off. A force of 50,000 men
was sent by sea to Shishijima, with orders to divide into two columns,
and operate from the south against Kagoshima and any Satsuma army
which might be placed to oppose it ; another force 78,000 strong, led
by Hid£naga, was to advance on Kagoshima by the main road from the
north ; while two lesser divisions under Katd, Fukushima and Kuroda,
proceeded by two different roads leading across the mountains under
the guidance of Kenniyo Kosa and certain of the priests of Shishijima,
with orders to converge upon a point between the Satsuma Capital and
the army of Yoshihiro.
The forces by sea and land left on the night of the 21st April
within a few hours of each other, and on the morning of the 28rd
Hid£naga's army came in sight of the Satsuma outposts. The great
force moved on until almost within striking distanpe of the enemy, then
suddenly halted and waited, as if reluctant to begin the struggle. While
the Satsuma leaders were hesitating as to what they should do,
messengers arrived post haste from the camp of Yoshihiro with the as-
tounding news that the main army had been attacked by a large force
of Imperialists which had approached from an unknown direction.
What had actually occurred was this. The fleet had sailed to Shishi-
jima, and embarking again had landed the expedition on the mainland.
The force thus landed having separated into two columns, commanded
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GUBBINS: HID&YOSHI AND THE SATSUMA CLAN. 185
respectively by Hirano Masayasu and Wakizaka Yasuharu, had
advanced rapidly northwards, and leaving a small body to watch the
Kagoshima garrison, had fallen upon the rear of Yoshihiro's army. At
the same moment one of the two divisions which had advanced by the
mountain roads, that led by Fuknshima, hearing the attack, poured out
of the denies where it had lain concealed and closed in upon the
Satsnma army with a wild shout. Yoshihiro, disconcerted by this
attack from a quarter where he thought himself secure, and suspecting
treachery, lost heart, and cutting his way through the enemy with 50 or
60 horsemen, sought safety in flight. The other Generals followed his
'example, while the army, left to itself, kept up an ineffectual struggle for
a time and then laid down its arms. This catastrophe decided the day.
Niiro, Ijiuin and the two other Satsuma Generals had meanwhile been
assailed by the other Imperialist division under Katd Euroda, which
had come over the hills, but thanks to the desperate valour of their men,
and to the inaction of the large force under Hidenaga, which remained
where it had halted, they were able to hold their own. Aware, however,
of the perilous position of Yoshihiro, they determined to retire upon the
main army. They fell back in good order, but the first step in their
retreat was the signal for the vast host in front of them to advance. It
poured down upon them, overpowering all resistance, and thus over-
whelmed by numbers the retreat soon became a rout. Hotly pursued,
the Satsuma leaders hurried back only to find the enemy in undisturbed
possession of what had been the cainp of Yoshihiro. All hope was then
abandoned, and commanders and men, mixed up in one common mass of
fugitives, took to flight in the direction which' each judged to be safest.
The Satsuma army was thus entirely dispersed, and nothing
remained, before the invaders but the castle of Kagoshima. But before
assaulting it, the Imperialist Generals communicated to Hid^yoshi
the complete success of the operations and asked for instructions.
These were at once issued, and were to the effect that each General was
to occupy the ground that he had won, but on no account was any one
to advance and follow up the success.
Hideyoshi's campaign had been one continued success, and the
Satsuma clan, whose pride it had ever been that no hostile force
had ever crossed the borders of Satsuma, was reduced to the last
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136 gubbins : hh>£yoshi and the satsuma clan.
extremity, its armies dispersed and its Generals forced to seek safety
in flight. Iy Lisa's position in the camp of Hideyoshi was very
humiliating. Nominally he had submitted, but in his heart he had
meditated' treachery, and the final catastrophe before Kagoshima, so
unexpected and overwhelming, caused him the bitterest mortification.
While allowed the fullest freedom of action compatible with his position
as a prisoner, be was watched narrowly, unknown to himself, and
during the events of the last few days he had had no opportunity of
carrying out the rash project which he had proposed to himself.
Hideyoshi was always attended by a strong guard, and the success in
every action had been so decisively on the side of the Imperialists that
Iy6hisa had never the chance which might otherwise have been afforded
by the proximity of the struggle to the camp at Taiheiji. Shortly after
the final defeat of the Satsuma army, Hideyoshi summoned his leading
Generals to a conference, and he invited Iy6hisa to attend the council.
When all were assembled, Asano Nagamasa — who, it is said, had been
previously instructed by Hitfeyoshi as to what he should say — stepped
forward and addressed the council as follows : —
•' Sirs, our Generals have triumphed everywhere, and the destruc-
tion of the House of Shimadzu is imminent. The head of that family has
been treated with much forbearance, but he has resisted obstinately.
It is therefore fitting that he should reap as he has sown, and my advice
is, that Kagoshima should be at once attacked and destroyed. Its
ancient stronghold once razed to the ground, the clan can never again
hold up its head in Kiushiu, and the administration of the conquered
provinces' will be rendered by so much the easier."
The same language was held by Kuroda Yoshitaka, who urged that
the object of. the campaign would not be effectually completed unless
the caBtle of Kagoshima was destroyed. The latter speaker also
touched on the fact that a prolonged delay before the Satsuma capital
might give an opportunity for the execution of intrigues against
Hideyoshi at the Kiy6to court. By the general hum of approval which
followed these speeches, it was easy for Iy&iisa to see that the views
thus forcibly expressed found favor with the majority of the council.
He felt that his worst fears were about to be. realized, when Hideyoshi,
who had listened attentively, made the following remarkable speech : —
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tHJBBINS: HTOftTOSHI and the satsuma clan. 187
"The course proposed by Asano and Euroda has certainly one
advantage. Undoubtedly the destruction of the Satsuma clan would
make the task of governing these provinces very simple. But I am
averse to such severe measures. Were I, on the strength of a few
paltry successes in the battle field, to put an end to a house like that of
Shimadzu, I should feel shame even in my grave. In carrying out the
Emperor's orders for the pacification of the country, at has been my
endeavour to accomplish this end peacefully where possible. Now
before the walls of Eagoshima I am animated by the same purpose.
I am not waging a war of extermination, but wish to smooth the road
of submission for the rebellious. When once Satsuma submits, her
allegiance is secured for ever. The clan glories in its keen sense of
honour, and would never furnish traitors to a cause it has once
espoused."
Even to those who have been able to trace the spirit in which
Hid^yoshi conducted the campaign from the first, his liberality will
appear surprising. To advance so far and yet not enter the rebel
capital ; to have his enemy within his grasp, and yet not crush him ;
to hold back a victorious army in the hour of victory ; — all this argues a
forbearance and strength of will which few Generals in those days pos-
sessed, and which we certainly would not look for to the feudal times
of Japan. In his speech he doubtless endeavoured to conceal his
real motives^ under the guise of extreme generosity and an honest
admiration for a resolute enemy. These motives can only be explained
by assuming that his campaign had shown him that the only guarantee
for the maintenance of order and good government in Eiushiu, was
the existence of some strong authority, bending, of course, to orders
from the Court at Kiydto ; and in the same way he doubtless acquired
the conviction that the House of Shimadzu, from its ancient connection
with Eiushiu, and its real importance, was the best fitted to exercise this
authority. He might crush the Satsuma clan, but what could he put in
its place? Here lay the problem. He could not replace it by any
family of equal influence and solidity, and unless a strong chain of
garrisons was left to preserve order and enforce the authority of the
Central Government — a system which would entail heavy expenditure —
his withdrawal might be the signal for the beginning of a reign of anarchy.
vol. vni. 18
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188 gubbins: hid&yoshi and the satsuma clan/
It did not occur to Iy^hisa as he listened to Hideyoshi's speech, to
enquire into the speaker's motives ; it was as much as he could do to
realise the fact that the clan was to be spared if possible, and his
conscience smote him for having- meditated treachery. When invited
to attend the council, he saw no other motive in the summons than a
wish to humiliate him, and cause him to suffer doubly by first hearing
the doom of his clan pronounced, and later on, being a witness to its
death struggle. We have seen how happily he was undeceived. Im-
pulsive like all his clansmen, he was overwhelmed with conflicting
emotions, and when the Imperialist commander, the man whose life he
had plotted, turned to where he was sitting and expressed his belief in
the loyalty of the Satsuma clan when once its pledges were given, in an
agony of remorse the listener secretly vowed that he would further his
generous captor's intentions with his whole energy. From that moment
Iy£hisa was Hideyoshi's man.
The council broke up, and Iy^hisa hurried off to see the head priest
of the temple of Taiheiji.. To him the Satsuma leader, full of his new
ideas, explained abruptly that it was in his power to save the House of
Shimadzu. " Your sect," he said, " was the first to be introduced into
Satsuma, and* Taiheiji is the ancestral temple of the prince's family ; it
is therefore right that you should obey my orders." The reply was
characteristic : — " To the prince this province owes its existence ; to the
province, this temple ; my services are at the disposal cff my lord."
"Good," said Iy£hisa; and he then explained to him Hideyoshi's
generous policy, and his own wish to induce the prince to make terms
with the conqueror. , " Go, therefore," he proceeded, " to Hid£yoshi, and
ask him for permission to negotiate with the prince. You will tell
Yoshihisa and Yoshihiro that you have Hideyoshi's orders to use every
effort to secure their submission. Their pride may then be saved by
the thought that they have not been the first to make overtures, and
when they hear that I am safe they will listen to you."
The priest waited on Hideyoshi, and obtaining the required permis-
sion set out at once for the Satsuma capital. Besides the detailed
instructions Hideyoshi had given to him, he carried a letter from
Iyelusa to the Prince Shimadzu Yoshihisa.
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gubbins: hid&yoshi and the satsuma clan. 189
On the disastrous day on which the Satsuma forces had been
routed in every part of the field, the young Prince Yoshihiro had fled to
Kagoshima, where he awaited the arrival of the scattered remnants of
his army. To his surprise he found that the actual loss in killed and
wounded amongst his own men was but small. The attack had
been so sudden, and the panic so complete, thfct both leaders and men
had fled without striking a blow. That night the woods and hills in
the neighbourhood held thousands of fugitives of all ranks, who, now
that the enemy showed no signs of pursuing them, came creeping out of
their hiding places into Kagoshima. The disbanded forces thus collected
made a still formidable army, but the old spirit which had animated
them was gone. Both leaders and men were utterly cowed, and
recognising, therefore, the uselessness of attempting to make another
stand without the walls of the town, the Satsuma Generals concentrated
their troops in the castle. And as an attack might be expected at any
moment, the garrison busied themselves in making every provision for
a siege. Weak points in the defence were strengthened, fresh entrench-
ments were dug, and the battlements were manned with the full
complement of men. Bat, — and not for the first time in the course of
his campaign, — the enemy showed no disposition to follow up his
success, but lay quietly encamped in the captured positions. Three
days had thus passed since the defeat before Kagoshima, and still the
enemy had not stirred. On the morning of the fourth day, a scout
reported that a slight stir was observable in the enemy's lines, and
presently some sentinels, posted on the look-out, observed a procession
of a few palanquins crossing the hills to the north of the town.
Gradually, for it moved but slowly, it neared the castle, and to the
challenge of the guard an answer was given that a messenger from the
Imperialist commander-in-chief demanded an audience of the prince.
With so small a following there could be no fear of treachery, so the
gates were opened and the messenger admitted. Having entered, he
stept out of his palanquin and announced himself as the head priest of
Taiheiji.
Shimadzu Yoshihisa was prejudiced against the priest because he
came from a place in the hands of the enemy, but he received him with
the courtesy due to his rank, and learning that the nature of the
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140 GUBBINS: HEMfeYOSHI AND THE 8ATSUMA CLAN.
communication he had to make was private, led the way into an inner
chamber, into which only his son Yoshihiro and the priest followed
him.
Seating himself and motioning the visitor to do likewise, the prince
inquired his business. " I come," replied the priest, " seeking the wel-
fare of the province." *'The welfare of the province," repeated the
prince drily ; " please explain yourself."
Thus urged, the abbot commenced a long harangue, taking for his
text the " Will of Heaven," a common theme of Buddhist discourses.
Man, he explained, has his duties to perform in this world, according
to the class of life he fills, and though it might seem otherwise, all
social ranks and distinctions are in reality the work of Heaven. Nothing
in the world can be done without its influence ; man is but an
instrument in the hands of Heaven. As instances in support of his
argument, the speaker alluded to the rise of Nobunaga, his death
by the hand of Akechi Mutsuhid£, the career of Hid6yoshi and his
recent victorious campaign. In each case the hand of Heaven was dis-
cernible. Heaven had willed that Hideyoshi should conquer Kiushiu,
audit was not for the Shimadzu to withstand the decree of Providence.
The speaker discoursed at length on this text, then skilfully shifting
his ground, he appealed earnestly to the personal sympathies of his
hearers. Of the widespread desolation caused by the long waged war ;
of the family ties which must count for something in the forthcoming
decision of the clan, he said nothing ; nor of the diminished revenues,
scanty harvests, and suffering peasantry. But he reminded his hearers
of their illustrious descent from Yoritomo, and the foundation of their
family four centuries before, and dwelt with a touch of genuine pride
(for he was a Satsuma man himself) on the glorious traditions of the
clan and the proud position which it had achieved for itself unaided in
Kiushiu. He concluded an eloquent appeal in these words : — " Would
it be right, think you, to stake all this on an issue in which your
chances of success are, believe me, as nothing ? Would it not rather be
ingratitude to your ancestors, cruelty to your clansmen, and injustice to
your posterity ? Be wise, therefore ; dismiss your pride, and negotiate
for peace ; so shall posterity have cause to thank you and the shades of
your ancestors rest in their graves."
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GUBBIN8: HID&YOSHI AND THE SAT8UMA CLAN. 141
There was so much sound sense in the abbot's address that the
prince and his son hardly knew what to reply. And when they found
an answer, it only betrayed the weakness of their position.
For their objection that the clan was no longer in a position to
sue for terms without lowering itself irretrievably in the eyes of the
world the abbot at once met by pointing out that the first overtures
had come from Hidtyoshi. Their pride could not therefore suffer on
that score. As for their unwillingness to yield, — the feeling was a
natural one : but even if they considered such a step wrong, the
Shimadzu might surely be content to err in such good company as
that of Mdri of the Ten Provinces and Chdsokabe' of Shikoku.
The prince and his son were gradually won over by these arguments,
and when the priest, who had watched his opportunity, gave them the letter
of IyeUsa and explained under what circumstances it was written, the
scale was turned in favor of submission. This resolution was at once
laid before a general assembly of the clan, by whom it was approved,
and nothing then remained but to arrange the details of the surrender.
To guard against treachery it was decided that Yoshihisa should set out
immediately for the camp of Hid£yoshi, where his son should join him
if everything was found to be satisfactory.
The party, travelling quickly, soon reached the headquarters of the
Imperial army, and there Yoshihisa for the first time stood face to face
with Hid£yoshi. He saw indeed a man — such as described in all
chronicles of the times — of small stature and a weazened, monkey-like
face ; but as our historian .tells us, " there was an innate nobility in the
demeanour of the great General, and Yoshihisa was filled with awe."
The negotiations between the two leaders need not detain us long.
At the instance of Hid^yoshi, who declined to move in the matter in the
absence of Yoshihiro, the Prince's son was sent for. On his arrival .
Hid^yoshi communicated his terms. The territory of Satsuma was
restored almost in its entirety, and was to comprise Osumi, Satsuma and
half of Hiuga. But this concession was purchased by the deposition of
the reigning Prince Yoshihisa, who was to abdicate in favor of his son
Yoshihiro, and was to accompany Hid£yoshi on his return to the capital
as a hostage for the clan.
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142 gubbins: hh>£yoshi and the satbuma clan.
The liberality of these terms astonished the Shimadzu Family, while
it disappointed many of the Generals nnder Hidfyoshi, who had looked
for a redistribution of the Satsuma territory, in which their claims
would receive attention.
A characteristic incident occurred on the return march of the
Imperialist army. As the vanguard was defiling through one of the
passes on the borders of Satsuma, they suddenly found the road barred
by a hostile force, whose leader, advancing close to the front ranks of the
Imperialists, announced himself as Niiro Musashi no Kami. With an
obstinate fidelity to a failing cause which refused to recognize defeat as
long as a handful of his men were still round him, he had taken to the
hills on the day of the final disaster to the Satsuma army, and refused
to join his clansmen in seeking shelter behind the walls of Eagoshima.
While the negotiations we have described were pending, he carefully
kept aloof, and as each day the arrival of fresh fugitives swelled the
ranks of his small army, at the end of a fortnight he considered himself
strong enough to take the field at the head of a force of 8,000 men. Of
the course of events since his retreat from the field, when all seemed to
be lost, he knew nothing, and he accordingly conceived the bold idea of
marching to the border, there to He in wait for any portion of the
enemy's army which might pass that way. It happened that he chose
the very line of route by which the whole Imperialist army was
returning, and thus further bloodshed was avoided ; — for on learning
the actual state of things he saw the absurdity of attempting any
further resistance and gave in his submission. He earned, however,
the proud distinction of being the last Satsuma man who laid down his
sword.
In closing our account of this chapter of Japanese history it only
remains to notice an episode which illustrates the barbarity of the times.
After the surrender of the Prince of Satsuma it leaked out in some way
that the success of the movement by which the Satsuma forces were
surprised and routed before Eagoshima was due to the assistance of
guides. And as soon as the last soldier of the invading army had
left the country, a searching inquiry was instituted, with the result that
the part taken by the Shishijima priests was disclosed. The popular
feeling, eager to find some scapegoat on which to avenge their
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OUBBIKS: HID&YOSHI AMD THE 8AT8UMA CLAN. 148
•humiliation in the late campaign, clamoured for the execution of the
men who had been traitors to their province, and the poor priests of
Shismjima and their parishioners were barbarously crucified. Nor
did the Satsuma vengeance stop here. A decree was issued that every
inhabitant of Satsuma, from the highest to the lowest, from the
samurai down to the common pedlar, who belonged to the Shin sect of
Buddhists must renounce his creed. Any who disobeyed this order
were to be expelled the province, and those who resisted expulsion
might be killed with impunity. The effects of this ill-advised policy
are to be traced to this day, and the general repugnance to Buddhism
in the southern provinces of Kiushiu is thus explained:
It may be asked what action Hid^yoshi took on hearing of the
massacre. He availed himself of a method of shewing dissatisfaction
much in vogue among diplomatists. He protested.
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APR 271881
( 146 )
LAND PROVISIONS OP THE TAIHO RlO.
By C. J. Tabbing, Esq., M. A.
1
[Read December 9, 1879.]
The Taihd Rid, or Code of Taihd, is so called from having been
drawn np in the second year of the period of Taihd, A. D. 702, which
was the thirty-second year of the reign of Mommn Tennd, who reigned
from A. D. 671 to A. D. 706. The text was supplemented by notes
contributed by the judges and lawyers and other learned men in the
spring of the 10th year of Tench6, A. D. 768, by order of the Emperor
Junna, and authorized by the Imperial Government. Text and notes
now form a work called Bid no Gi-ge, or Commentaries on the Law, the
whole written in the Chinese in use among the Japanese of those times.
The work is divided into thirty sections, devoted to as many
branches of the law.1 The section treating of the land system is called
1 These sections are named as follows: Vol. 1 — Kuwan-irid (Official' titles),
Shoku-in rid (Duties of officials), Kd-in-shoku-in rid (Duties of officials of the
household of the Empress), Td-gu-shoku-in rid (Duties of officials in the household
of the Heir-apparent to the crown), Ka-rei-shoku-in rid (Duties of officials in the
household of officers of high rank) ; vol. 2 — Jin-gi rid (Dedication to the gods),
Sd-ni rid (Buddhist priests), So rid (the Family) ; vol. 3— Den rid (the Land),
Fu-yaku rid (Taxation), Gaku rid (Learning) ; vol. 4— Sen- jo rid (Official ranks and
titles), Eei-shi rid (the Descent of the Crown and Dignities of royal or imperial
persons), Kd-kuwarid (Meritorious fulfillment of official duties), Boku rid (Salaries) ;
vol. 6 — Kn-yei rid (Court guard), Gum-bd rid (Army and frontier defence) ; vol. 6—
Gi-seirid (Ceremonies), I-fuku rid (Official costumes), Yei-zen rid (Public works) ; vol.
7 — Ku-shiki rid (Mode of addressing persons of rank) ; vol. 8— Sd-ko rid (Stores of
rice and other grain), Kiu-boku rid (Stables and fodder), I-shitsu rid (Duties of
medical officers attached to the Court) ; vol. 9— Ka-nei rid (Official vacations),
Sd-Bd rid (Funerals and mourning), Kuwan-shi rid (Watch and ward and markets),
Ho-bd rid (Arrest of criminals) ; vol. 10— Goku rid (Jails), Zatsu rid (Miscellaneous,
including bailment, finding of lost goods, etc.)*
vol. vni. 19
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146 tarring: land provisions of the taiho rio.
Den rid, or Law of Land ; but a few provisions relating to the same
subject are found in the Fu-yaku rio (Law of Taxation), the Ko rid (Law
of the Family), and the Sd-ni rid (Law of Buddhist priests). There is, as
might be expected, a lack of logical division and ordering of the subject,
which the writer of the present paper has attempted to remedy ; topics
are treated fragmentarily in different places, which a modern author
would have given a single complete view of at once. There are,
however, indications of a highly artificial organisation of society
having already developed itself, both in the ingenious and even minute
classifications and distinctions found in the Den rid, and in the titles
themselves of other sections of the entire work. (See Note 1.)
There seems to be considerable doubt as to the amount of binding
force possessed by the Code. It appears only to have had effect at any
time in those parts of Japan immediately subject to the rule of the
Imperial Court. The rise and progress of the Shdgunata must, therefore,
have seriously restricted its authority.' However that may be, it is
of considerable interest to jurists at the present day, as exhibiting the
juridical ideas concerning property in land in vogue at that epoch.
Theoretically, the law is still in force ; and it forms one of the subjects of
study in the Law Department of Tdkiyd University.
At the outset the principle is laic} down that the whole of
the land is the property of the Sovereign, by whom different kinds of
estates were granted out to different classes of persons. These kinds
of estates were as follows : —
1. Ku-bun~den, or wiouth-sliare-land. — This was granted to all
persons of the age of five years and upwards in the proportion of
two tan each to males and two- thirds of a tan each to females, except
where the population was large and the available land of small extent.9
Even slaves received a share of ku-bun-den. Public slaves were entitled
to as much as free men, but land in their hands was said to be fu-zri-den,
i.e., it could not be sold or let to profit. . Private slaves were entitled to
2 The tan is an area anciently 30 ho by 12 ho, now 30 Iw by 10 ; and 10 tan
make one cho. In the present day ac/w is 12,000 square yards, and a tan 1,200 ;
but the modern tan is not a measure of the same extent as the old one. One tan
produced 50 bundles of rice, giving 6 shd of threshed rice, of which 2} bundles
were paid as tax.
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TABBING : LAND PROVISIONS OF THE TAIH6 RIO. 147
one-third a freeman's share, if there was sufficient land.8 When granted
oat the land had to be marked oat by bounds. This ku-bun-den was
given for life only, and reverted to the Sovereign on the death of the tenant,
A fresh distribution was supposed to be made every sixth year, called
the han-nen or distribution year, corresponding to the limit of age
qualifying to take ku- bun-den; but this provision was not literally
carried out. In the first month of the han-nen the quantity of
unappropriated land was to be reported. to the Dai-jo-kuwan or Central
Government. In the tenth month the local authorities were to
calculate the amount of land required and the number of persons
entitled to it. In the eleventh month the persons entitled were
called out and received their shares ; and the distribution ought to be
finished before the end of the second month of the succeeding year.
In the interval between the death of a tenant and the succeeding
han-nen the land was held by the late tenant's family. In general it
was necessary that hi-bun-dm 'should be granted near the residence of
the grantee, even though he wished otherwise ; and on reversion the
land had to be returned in one compact parcel.
Where the land was sterile and did not give an annual crop, twice
the regular amount was given, such land being called yeJci-den, or
land cultivated by alternation.
2. I-den, or rank-land. — This was granted to persons of rank
according do their rank, as follows : —
Ippon consisted of 80 cho >
Ni-hon " • " 60 '
Sam-bon " " 50 «
Shi-hon " " 40 '
Then came the denominations of persons of official rank, and their
assignments of land : —
Sho ichii received 80 cho
JuicH-i " 74 "
8 The following classification of persons is found incidentally marked out in the
section of the Code which treats of the family (Ko rid) : Persons are divided into
rid^min, or freemen, and semmin, or slaves. Semmin again are divided into
kuwan-ho, rio-ko, arid ko-nu-hi, belonging to the public ; and he-nin and shi-nu-hi,
belonging to rio-min.
Given only to persons of imperial, rank.
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148 tabbing: land provisions of the taih6 bio.
ShS ni-i received 60 cho
Ju ni-i
<<
54 "
Sho sam-mi
h
40 "
Ju sam-mi
<(
84 "
Sho shi-i
(<
24 "
Ju shi-i
<<
20 "
Sho go-i
(C
12 "
Ju go-i
((
8 "
A female of corresponding rank received two-thirds of a male's share.
The above persons had kurai or £, i.e. rank. They generally held
office also, and then received additional allotments of land of the next
kind of estate.,
8. Shoku-bun-dtn, or land given as salary to persons holding office. —
Here we come upon a distinction between office-holders as being either
zai-kid, officers in the capital, or zai-ge, officers outside the capital.
Lands granted to zai-kid were as follows : —
The Dai-jd dai-jin received 40 chS ; the Sa-dai-jin and U-dai-jin
received 80 cho each ; the Dai-na-gon received 20 cho.
Lands were granted to zai-ge as follows : — ^
The governor of the da-zai-ful fda-zai no sotsu) received 10 cho ;
the next subordinate (dai-ni) received 8* cho ; the next officer (sho-ni)
received 4 cho; the next rank comprised several officers6 who each
received 2 cho ; officers of the next rank6 received each 1 cho 6 tan ;
officers of the next rank7 received each 1 chd 4 tan9 after whom came
the Rei-shi with 1 cho and last the Shi-m, who received 6 tan.
Then came the governors of provinces (kami), who received shares
according to the class to which their province belonged.8
* The da-zai-fu was the province now called Chiknzen in Kiushiu. The duties
of the governor (da-zai no sotsu) were chiefly connected with the naturalization of
foreigners and the defence of the southern part of the empire. It was a sort of
army, navy, and foreign department. The cits' D*-*ai-fu was situated in Tsukushi,
near the modern Hakata, in the northeast of Kiushiu. Vide the Shoku-in rid,
vol. X of the Code.
6 Dai-kuwan, Sho-kwwan, Dai-han-ji (chief justice)-
6Dai-ku, Sfc6-fczn-ji ((puisne justice), DaUten, Bbyinnokami (head of the
1 tensive army), hamu-tsukai (servant of the gods), hak*$e (professor, teacher).
Pr * Stolen.
wer As to the classification of the provinces vide the Shoku-in ri6.
I
tabbing: land provisions of the taiho bio. 149
Governors of tai-koku received 2 cho 6 tan.
" " jd-koku and assistant governors of tai-koku 2 cho 2 ton.
" " cAw-fofo " " " " jd-koku 2 cto.
" " ka-koku and the executive officers of tai-koku and jd-koku
received 1 chd 6 tan.
Governors of gun or &ort (divisions of provinces) again received
shares according to a classification of those officers themselves into (1)
dai-rio, or head, who received 6 cho; (2) sho-rio, who received 4 cho; and
(8) shusei, or clerk, and shu-chd or keeper of the records, who
received 2 cho each ; hut if the village in which the officer resided was
small, these shares abated.
The principle of granting lands as salary for official duties was
carried to the extent of endowing post-towns along the roads with lands
to defray the expenses of supplying coolies and horses for government
use. These lands were called yeki-den* or post town lands, and were
apparently a variety of shoku-bun-den. These lands were granted to
post-towns on a scale according to the class of road upon which the towns
were situated. Thus post-towns along roads classed as dai-ro received
4 cho ; along roads classed as chiu-ro, 8 cho ; along roads classed as
sho-ro, 2 chd. • #
4. Ko-den, or land granted for public merit. — Tai-ko was granted for
the highest public merit and was given in perpetuity ; jo-ko was granted
for high public merit, and was held to the third generation ; chiu-kd was
granted for medium public merit, and was retained only to the second
generation ; ka-ko was granted for the lowest recognized public merit,
and only descended to a son or daughter.
Land of this nature (kd-den) was only to be given to a man in the
place to which he belonged, if there was land there in sufficient
quantity, unless the Emperor named a particular piece of land elsewhere.
If a person entitled .to i-den died before he came into possession of
9 This is a different word, though bearing the same sound, from the name
given to the double share of ku-bun-den granted on account of sterility. The
two words are both Chinese but have different meanings, and are represented by
different characters.
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150 tabbing: land provisions of the taiho bi6.
his entire estate, only that portion descended to his heirs which the
ancestor had actually taken possession of, which might he none at all.
In the case of ko-den, however, the heir in such a case was entitled to the
whole.
5. Shi-den, which teas an estate created by the especial edict of the
Emperor.— 11 in any part of a province (kuni or koku) the land was
insufficient to give a proper share to each person (such a part of the
country being called kiyo-kiyo), the deficiency might be made up
out of a distant part of the same province where the land was
sufficient in quantity (such part being called kuwan-kiyou).
A certain quantity of land was retained in the Go-ki-nai (the five
home provinces) for direct government purposes. This was called
kuwan-den. Thirty cho was so retained in Yamato and Settsu, and
twenty cho in Eawachi and Yamashiro. One head of kine10 had to be
fed on every two cho, and tended by a house exempt from the burden of
public labour. (See below, Kuwa-yeki). Kuican-den was under the
immediate control of the Ku-nai-shd, or office of the Imperial Household,
by which the crops were regulated, and a report made to the Dai-jd-
kuwan, that the necessary number of workmen might be furnished.
A particular denomination is given in the Code to land devoted to
the cultivation of mulberry (Icuwa) and lacquer (urushi) trees. Such
land" was called on-chiy and was granted out to the families of a village,
and only reverted to the sovereign if the family died out. But it was
transferable from one family to another. The families in a village were
distinguished according to the number of their members as jo-ko, chiu-kof
ka-ko. Jo-ko families receiving on~chi had to plant 800 mulberry trees
and 100 lacquer trees ; chiu-ko families had to plant their on-chi with 200
mulberry trees and 70 lacquer trees ; while ka-ko families had to plant
100 mulberry trees and 40 lacquer trees. These trees were to be planted
within five years of the grant, unless the land was unsuitable or not ex-
tensive enough. The amount of the shares would depend on the extent
of the village, and newly formed families became entitled like old ones.
Transfers of building land \taku-chi)11 had to be notified to the local
10 Ushi no itto, exactly rendered.
11 Taku-chi signifies the land upon which a dwelling was built, together with
the curtilage, but exclusive of the dwelling itself.
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tarring: land provisions of the taiho Rid. 161
authorities and their consent obtained. But dwellings or warehouses,
apart from the land on which they were built, might be trans-
ferred without notification. This provision also applied to on-chi, and
to land brought under cultivation by the owner's own labour. If a man
went to a foreign country and did not return, his ku-bun-den reverted to
the Emperor, unless he left relations in the country within the fifth
degree of consanguinity living in the same household, in which case the
land was assigned to them for ten years from motives of clemency.
I-den .and shi-den were subject to the same rule ; but not sholm-bun-den,
in which case probably the office to which the land was annexed was
filled up in a short time, and the shoku-bun-den went to the new
incumbent. In the case of hu-bun-den the original owner received his
land or an equal amount back on returning within the ten years.
If a land-owner died in the Emperor's service, e.g.. in war, his
land went to his son or daughter, but not to any other surviving
relative.
Any man might lease his land for one year only, unless it was
. on-chi, when he could lease it for any time or sell it outright. But in
each case the consent of the local authorities was necessary.
When different persons held lands in intermixed portions, they
might apply to the local authorities and have the land redistributed in
proportionate entire parcels, a record of the transaction being kept.
If a river changed its course, the occupier of the land over which
the new channel was formed 'was at liberty to take that part of the old
bed left dry. If ku-bun-den was practically lost to the grantee by reason
of floods, etc., it was resumed in the han-ne% (or distribution year), and a
new share granted out. This rule did not apply to lands belonging
to religious bodies, which were called fu-zei-denf land exempt from
taxation.12
In deciding as to priority of receipt of land, an order was followed
which was based upon a combination of three classifications of families
into —
(1) Kuwa-ko and fu-kuica-ko, or taxable and untaxed ;
11 This word fu-zei-den is the same as is used with reference to the share of
public slaves in ku-bun-den. In both cases the word implies that the land could
not be made a profit of. •
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152 tabbing: land provisions of the taih6 ri6.
(2) Those possessing and those not possessing any land ;
(8) Rich and poor.
The order then was as as follows :
1. Kwva-ko, and of them :
(a) those that had no land ;
(b) those that had a little ;
( c) the poor ;
(d) the rich.
2. Fu-kuwa~ko, and of them :
(a) those that had no land ; -
(b) those that had a little ;
-(e) the poor;
(d) the rich.
No person possessed of land was allowed to give or sell it to a
temple.18
Land, either public or private,14 which had been abandoned for three
years on more, would be lent to any one making application for it ; and .
it would be no objection that such land was situated in a distant gun.
Private land so lent had to be returned to the owner after three years'
enjoyment ; public land was returned to the government after six years ;
but if at the end of the six years the temporary tenant had not yet
received an allotment of ku-bun-den, public land cultivated by him
would be assigned in part or entire satisfaction.
The officers of any province were allowed to cultivate unoccupied
land in their province, if there existed any, during their term of office on
application to the government.
On a dispute arising as to land, crops sown before go to the
tenant in possession ; crops sown subsequently went according to the
judgment. Similarly as to manures, compensation was given or not
according as to whether they were laid down before or after.
Crops sown by the zai-ge officers on their shoku-bun-den go to them
u An early instance of a law of Mortmain.
uI-den, thi-den and hthbun-dcn was called private land: all other kinds of
land were public land.
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TARRING : LAND PROVISIONS OF THE TAIHO Rid. 158
on their leaving office and giving up the land to their successors. The
outgoing tenant also received compensation for labour expended on the
land.
In the Fu-yaku rid, the section relating to taxation, there are found
the following provisions concerning land : —
When a crop was injured by worms, frost, etc., the family owning
the land was exempt from taxation that year in the following propor-
tions, viz.: —
(a) When the crop was injured to the extent of one-half or more
(go bu, 5 parts, i.e. out of 10), the tax on the land was remitted.
(b) If the injury was to the extent of 70 per cent (shichi bu, 7
parts out of 10), all miscellaneous taxes, such as the produce
of mulberry and lacquer trees, were remitted.
(c) When the injury was 80 per cent (hachi bu, 8 parts) and
upward, all kuwa-yeki (personal services) were remitted.
Kuwa-yeki was compulsory service by all males who attained majority
for 80 days in the year; and two minors, or ji-tei, were considered equal
to one person of full age, so that each minor was required to serve for
15 days. At 66 years of age the liability ceased.
The nature of these services may be gathered from the provisions
enacted with respect to them. Thus the labourers were to be allowed
to rest between 12 noon and 4 in the afternoon during June and July :
they were not to be made to work at night : if the labourers fell sick,
or it rained, so that they could not work out of doors, they were only
allowed half rations; but if the services did not require exposure to
weather, work was to be continued even during rain, and full rations
were to be supplied. If labourers were taken ill on their way to the
scene of their labours, they were left in the care of the local authorities
and fed out of the public funds. If they died, a coffin was to be furnished
out of the public funds ; and if no one claimed the body, it was to be
burnt and the ashes buried by the wayside and a mark set up. But the
remains were to be given up to any relative or friend who had a right
to apply for them*
The following cases of exemption from kuwa-yeki were allowed :
Father, grandfather, brother, son and grandson of persons of the
VOL. VIII. 20
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154 ' tabbing: land provisions of the taih6 bi6.
rank of sam-mi (the third class of official rank) and above ; father and
son of go-i (fifth class of official rank) and above ; all persons of royal
blood ; persons infirm, or seriously ill, or deformed ; females ; slaves.
These labourers were all under the superintendence of the koku-ski,
er governor of the province, when at home. At the place of service an
officer called Dan-jo- taiu was charged to keep order.
In the Eo rid, or section treating of family law, the following in-
teresting provision is found. Every five houses were united for purposes
of common security into a community called go-ho. If a man became a
fugitive, his hi-bun-den was kept and cultivated as before by the go-ho*or
his relations within the third degree for three years. At the end of
that time, if he did not return, it reverted to the Sovereign.
In this section too there are some rather elaborate rules as to in-
heritance. Inheritable property is described as slaves, land, houses, and
personal property (shi-zai). Ko-den (land granted for public merit) is to
be divided equally among both male and female relations. As to the rest
the ruleB are as follows : —
The mother (chaku-bo),
the step-mother (Jcei-bo), • each received 2 parts ;
and the eldest son (chaku-shi),
the younger sons (sho-shi) received one part each ;
the concubine (sho)
and the female children
received one-half part each ;
Children of sons, including adopted children, represent their father,
a female child taking half the share of a male child ; but if all the sons
died, all their children took per capita.1* Children of daughters did not
represent their mother.
Property belonging to a wife on her marriage is not included in the
distribution.
u A kind of police prefect. The office existed, in name at least, till nine years
ago, when it was absorbed in the Shi-lw-shd or judicial department.
M Sir Henry Maine, in his Early History of Institutions, p. 328, points out
the significance of succession per capita as marking an earlier stage of law
than succession per stirpes. Here we seem to see a transition in process from one
form of succession to the other. '
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tabbing: land pbovisions of the TAmd Bid.' 155
The widow or concubine of a son of the deceased received that son's
share if there were no children.
If the deceased left a sister or niece remaining in the house, they
took a half share of the grandchildren, even if they were married,
unless they had received a portion. If a man died without male issue*
the widow or concubine represented her husband. But if a son
succeeded to his father's share, he was obliged to allow his widowed
mother during her widowhood to enjoy the property jointly with him.
The above rules as to distribution did not apply to the kind of
estates called ko-den, which was divided amongst all the children, male
and female, in equal shares.
When members of a family agreed to live together and to eqjoy
the property jointly, the above provisions did not apply. Nor did they
in the case of a disposition inter vivos by the deceased clearly established.17
In the Sd-ni rio, or section relating to Buddhist priests, it is provided
that priests and nuns may not hold land.
Modern lawyers will probably notice some marks of inconsistency
or incompleteness in the provisions of the Den rid as above set out.
Perhaps the most obvious is also the- true explanation, — that in a code
of such an early date as this the same scientific accuracy and com-
pleteness cannot be expected as would be demanded in the present age
in such a work.
w Wills are not mentioned in the Code.
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(156)
ON THE JAPANESE LETTEES "CHI" AND "TSU."
By J. Edkins, D.D., CorreBponding Member of the Society.
[Read January 13, 1880.]
The Chinese language has been in a state of constant flux since the
time of the introduction of the Chinese characters into Japan. Change
is inevitable in human speech, and the Japanese tongue is not likely to
prove an exception to the lawtf The syllabaries in use in the schools of
Japan were invented at a time quite long enough ago for changes to
enter in the interval between then and now. If changes have come into
the Japanese syllabary, in what parts of it are they to be found ? In
this subject of inquiry the late very elaborate paper by Mr. Satow, on
the " Transliteration of the Japanese Syllabary," is adapted to be most
useful.
I cannot but think, notwithstanding the adverse opinion of Mr. Satow
in page 18 of his paper, that there are strong indications of flux in the
sounds chi and tsu. I think also that there has been a remarkable
change in the/ and h group, on which Mr. Satow gives no opinion.
Several sources of evidence on these changes will now be ap-
pealed to. • . ■
1. The sound tsu is t in certain positions. Thus in motte, yotte,
the sibilization disappears. Here we find the original sound preserved
in a favourable position. It is the te following it that throws the
primitive sound into relief, and has prevented its being "altered into tsu.
So it is that in hito, bito, the original sound b is preserved from
variation. The second word follows the first quickly. The disintegra-
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EDKINS: ON THE JAPANESE LETTERS " CHI " AND " TSU." 167
tion is prevented by this instantaneous sequence. B keeps its form,
while A is the only vestige remaining in the first word of the original
initial.
2. There is nothing to prevent the Japanese from pronouncing ti.
My present informant, a young Japanese recently arrived in China,
pronounces the Chinese words ting, ti, .quite distinctly and without any
difficulty of 'Utterance. Why should not the ancient Japanese be able to
do so too ? The irregularity which now meets** us did not arise from
any difficulty in enunciating ti and tu. It has originated since the
invention of the iroha, and is caused by the sibilization of t before two
out of the five vowels.
In writing the sound of the Chinese character "J* the Go Won has
chiyau, the Kan Won, tei. There is no doubt on the point that t was
the true Chinese initial at the time. Then why should not the Japanese
write it ? What I maintain is that they did write it, and that the sign
they employed was ti at the time and afterwards changed its value. If
they had no ti in their alphabet they would have made one. It was too
important not to be represented.
This is a matter easily tested. Are there any Japanese who cannot
sound ti and tu, and if so how many per cent ?
3. The Japanese have always regarded ta, chi, tsu, te, to as a
single group with one initial consonant only. If at first chi and tsu had
had a fully developed form, the Buddhist priests who controlled educa-
tion would have looked to the oh series of letters in the Sanscrit
alphabet as their type and added it to the Japanese syllabary. Mr.
Satow states that some Japanese writers, when using Roman letters,
write the two signs in question ti and tu. Doubtless they have an
instinctive sense derived perhaps from the usage in motte, yotte, etc.,
that chi and tsu were not the true original sounds.
4. Analogy in the Korean language speaks for an extensive change
from ti to chi still going on. For example, the Chinese word ti,
" emperor," is pronounced in northern Korean tei, while in southern
Korean and in the capital it is chiye. Books printed in the native
character follow the usage of the capital in this point and write chiye.
Medhurst's vocabulary writes the word tei, and in doing this follows
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158 EDKINS: ON THE JAPANESE LETTERS " CHI " AND " TSU."
the northern Korean in preference to that of the capital. The Japanese
also read this word tei. The Korean small dictionary of Chinese
pronounces it tiye.
The Chinese word JSft " faithful " is read by the northern Koreans
t'yong. In Medhurst's vocabulary and in the novels printed in the .
metropolitan dialect it is called c'hyong. By the Japanese it is read
chiyu or chiu. The small Chinese tonic dictionary used in Korea has
also c'hyong.
The change from tH to c'hi has taken place in south Korea and in
Japan. In north Korea the old t initial is still retained. The Korean
and Japanese languages are cognate, and since the Korean has this
change from ti to chi distinctly developed, an argument may be derived
for the existence of the same law of change in Japanese as suggested
by the anomalous condition of the t group in the syllabary.
This change from ti to chi in Korea is not limited to Chinese words.
Native Korean words are liable to it. The word for " temple/1 the
Japanese tera, is heard chiyer.
The appearance of the Mongol syllabary is such as to suggest that
ji has changed from di. There are scarcely any words commencing with
di, while there are many beginning with ji. This is caused by the
vowel i in leading to the sibilization of the preceding dental consonant.
The vowel i, then, when it follows d or t has the effect of changing
them to j or ch. But Mongol is cognate to Japanese and therefore
similar laws of changes- in letters may be expected.
5. A fifth source of evidence is formed in the Japanese way of
writing Chinese words with the initial ch or ts. Thus t'sun, " an inch,"
is always stm, never tsun. Now if the Japanese syllabary had in it
tew as a clearly developed syllable at the time of the transcription, this
symbol would naturally be used for the name of the Chinese " inch."
But if the modern Japanese tsu was anciently tu, then the regular
avoidance of tu when the Chinese tsu occurs is to be expected. If any
one look* over the columns in Hepburn's dictionary consisting of words
beginning with tsu, he will find cited many Chinese words beginning
with t, some beginning with ch (these have changed t for, eh since the
time of the transcription) and almost none commencing with ts\
So if the Chinese words in the columns devoted to the syllable chi
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, EDKINS: ON THE JAPANESE LETTERS " CHI " AND " TSTJ." 159
be examined in Hepburn, they will be found to be partly words in t,
and partly words in ch. Among the words in ch are many that have in
Chinese changed t for ch since the time of the transcription. Some of
them, however, were pronounced ch at that time, e.g. Jjj£ chi, " branch,"
used in the Buddhist name for China. This is usually " Sina," although
Hepburn gives both " Sina " and " Chiina." The Hindoo sound was
" China," and the character for "branch " was therefore without doubt
known as chi when the transcription was made from Sanscrit. In
transcribing this sound for use in Japan the fact that ri was the syllable
selected is highly in favour of the view that there was no chi at that
time in the Japanese alphabet. When afterwards ti became chi it was
also adopted occasionally by the later Japanese for writing the name of
China. The sound si is, however, by far Che most prevalent and is the
only one given in the two dictionaries I have at hand.
6. Etymology is in favour of the view that ts or ch has come from
t. Thus tobi, " to fly," may be regarded as akin to tmbasa, " wings."
The sibilization of t, following on the change of o to u, should not hide
from us the natural relationship of words like these. The Mongol word
for birds is shibegtm. In colloquial Mongol it is shobo. The vowel i
causes the change of the initial s in Mongol to sh, and in this the
student of Japanese will 'recognize a peculiarity in the pronunciation
of the syllable si in that language also, as carefully described by Mr.
Satow. The comparison of the Japanese word tobi with the Mongol
shibegun explains it afe meaning "that which flies."
The Mongol negative dei in iredei, " he is not come," is like the
Japanese dzu in atawadz, "he cannot," Chichi and Ute both, in
Japanese, mean "father," and may be identified if we recognize the
change of t to ch.
Chigai and tagai both mean " to differ."
7. The original characters used by the Chinese from which the
Japanese signs for chi and tsu were formed may be appealed to for
evidence on the early phonetic value of those' symbols. They will form a
seventh ground for the conclusion that these signs were at first ti and tu.
The primitive types of the running hand (hiragana) forms of «f»
cfti are, hi a Japanese book I have, given as £8 chi, "know," and £!§ chiy
" slow." In Julien's Methode pour dechiffrer et transcrire les noms
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160 EDKINS I ON THE JAPANESE LETTERS -" CHI " AND " TSU." .
Sanscrits qui se rencontrent dans les Livres Chinois,1 these characters are
representative of the Sanscrit syllables ti and di. The Chinese, then,
at the time of the Buddhist transcriptions, read these characters ti
and di.
In the 86 initials of Rang hi £jj chi (old sound ti) is the ninth*
Underneath it are arranged a large number of words which in Japanese
need to be spelt with the help of chi or with si. The Japanese trans-
cribers always chose chi. I suppose the reason of this is that all those
words beginning with ch in Rang hi's rhyming tables which are arranged
under £ji were, in the Tang dynasty and before, pronounced with t or d
instead of ch, and that these were the sounds the Japanese transcribers
had to express whether they used Go Won or Kan Won.
Of tsu the Chinese primitives in my authority are, first, R teu, old
sound tu, Japanese tou. The second Mragana primitive of tsu is %j$
in running hand. It is pronounced by the Japanese to and by the
Chinese tu. The third source of a running hand form of tsu was fig Vu.
It is by the Japanese called to and by the Chinese tlu, old sound do. In
Julien's Methods the first and second of these three characters teu,
"contend," tu, "metropolis," are both of the value tu in Sanscrit
transliteration.
The reason why the Japanese do not* use tsu in spelling these
characters seems to be in the vowel and not in the consonant. It is
constantly used in writing the sound of tu, " earth," " dust ;" tui, " a
.couple," Vung, "to communicate," etc., where the inserted * is highly
superfluous. The most of such Chinese characters as commence with
ts are written by the Japanese su as remarked above.
8. An argument may be drawn from the regularity of the Japanese
transcription of Chinese sounds in many points to defend the thesis that
it was so in this.
In the whole horizon of philology there is perhaps no greater chaos
at first view to be found any where than in the Japanese transcription
of Chinese sounds. This is probably a not uncommon opinion among
studentB. Inquiries of the kind presented in this paper will greatly
tend to restore that chaos to order.
. i t
1 Julien's M6thode, pp. 202, 203.
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• EDKINS: ON THE JAPANESE LETTERS " CHI " AND " T8U." 161
AmoDg the most striking anomalies is the occurrence of k for the
Chinese h. I propose to explain this in the following manner. There
was no* h at the time of the transcription in the Japanese syllabary.
The modern Japanese h was then p and b, or perhaps b only. Careful
inquiry into the time of the introduction of the nigori mark for dis-
tinguishing surds from sonants will help to show whether p and b
both existed at the time of the Japanese transcription or only b. The
Japanese having no h took k and g instead. I here assume that
k and g% with p and by both existed in Japanese formerly as now. . - -
Sometime after the transcription of Chinese sounds, the letter h
sprang into existence in the p and b series on account of a national
habit of pronouncing p, b and / negligently, Through the increasing
force of this bad habit of indistinct utterance, the h itself disappears
in some cases, so that we find wa instead of ba and yi instead of hi.
The Japanese have not yet so changed their writing as to accommodate
these modern irregularities with a place in its recognized symbolism,
and so ba and hi are written one way and pronounced another. Of
this we English cannot complain, seeing that we are a hundred times
worse in this respect in our own orthography. '
If this history of the letter h be admitted, not only may the
occurrence of k for the Chinese h be explained, but also a mass of
peculiarities belonging to the Japanese transliteration of Chinese sounds
beginning with p,f, and the (in most dialects). lost b.
Another instance where the symbols in the Japanese syllabary have
changed their value since the invention of the marks is1 the n
final. It wavers between the sounds ng, n and m. At present ng is
the favourite sound. N is the sound intended by the orthography. M
is an old sound formerly assigned and written, when so pronounced, in
'place of final n. Mr. Satow shews that in old times mu was extensively
used in place of final n, and that its being written, in the early work
called K^IKI Wan ye tsiy Man yep zip, is 'proof that the later sign for.
final n was not then invented. The introduction of final n into the
syllabary would follow on the early change of final m to final n.
Thus* the Chinese finals ng, n, rn, are not represented very satis-
factorily. The vowel u represents final ng, and this is uniform. But
vol. vm. 21
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162 EDKINS: ON THE JAPANESE LETTERS " CHI ". AND " T8U."
n and m were both represented by a single sign, first by mu, then by n.
The cause of this was in the defects of the Japanese vocal organs, which .
fail miserably in the imitation of final letters.
As a consequence, we find that when the hiragana characters
are illustrated by selection of about four or five Chinese symbols to
each sign in the syllabary, a great indifference to finals is observable.
Na stands for the. Chinese na, nan and nai. Te stands for Vien, ti,
t'ing, chuen. But the old sounds of these four words were fen, te,
deng, ten. They all agree in having the same vowel and in having a
dental initial mute. There is indifference in regard to the final letter.
Under the s group are arranged all words in ts, s, sh and ch. Thus
under sa are arranged tso, "left," cha, "mistake," san, " scatter," tso, "to
assist," 016, "crooked," sie, "to thank." The real sounds were tsa, cha,
san, zia, sia, or nearly bo. Under si or (as it is given by Hepburn and
usually heard) ski, are placed ch'i £, "of," sin j^f, " new," sKi 1|*, " a
thing," jg chi, "will." ( These characters are never written with thecAt
of the Japanese syllabary, but always with si. This uniformity should
teach us something in regard to changes in the initial letters of both
languages. '
In regard to the Japanese language, its poverty in letters becomes
conspicuous when the transcription is fairly considered.
There was no sh, no ts, no h, no /,* no ch, and possibly no double
set of surds and sonants. Nor was there an aspirate series. There
were only five vowels.
In Chinese there were all the letters just mentioned in which the
Japanese were deficient except /, which has come in since. But since
• that time the distinction of surd and sonant has been lost from
mandarin, while it remains in local dialects.
If the view here given of the original absence of sh in Japanese is
correct, the Hizen usage of sit as noted by Mr. Satow, page 15, is older
than the more common ski of Yedo and Kid to. Mr. Satow suggests that
the old Japanese s may have lain between 0 and sh. The Hizen people
change 0 before e into 0/1.
• That fu did not exist is shewn as follows :-— The characters T,pun not," ^ t
pu, " cloth," bu, " woman," f&t are the types of the hiragana characters for/u.
Alsojifu for -4-, jip, "ten," shews that the Japanese fu was formerly jw.
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EDKINS: ON THE JAPANESE LETTEES " CHI " AND " TSU." 168
For philological purposes it is not essential to have separate marks
for all* nice differences of sound. In a dictionary it is very convenient
to have the written form of Japanese adhered to in the way that Mr.
Satow proposes. There would be less difficulty in using Dr. Hepburn's
dictionary it Mr. Satow's orthography were adopted as the basis of the
alphabetical arrangement. We should not like to have to look for the
word "beauty" in an English dictionary under " byuti," instead of
under the usual orthography-
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(164 )
REPLY TO DR. EDKINS ON "CHI" AND "TSU."
By Ernest Satow.
[Read January 13, 1880.]
In my paper on the " Transliteration of the Syllabary " I said that
' there was nothing to show that «f> and H were ever identical, and that
there does not exist any evidence in support of the supposition that tsu
and chi are corruptions of tu and ti.' Dr. Edkins thinks that he has
adduced (evidence to prove the contrary, in the paper which has just
been read, and at first sight he may appear to have done this successfully ;
but an examination of hjs arguments will, I think, show that they are
by no means conclusive. •
Before proceeding further, it. may be remarked with reference to the
views put forward by Dr. Edkins on this subject in his " Study of the
Chinese Characters," pp. 180-lBd, that the date assigned by Japanese
annalists for the introduction of Chinese learning is not trustworthy.
A glance at their chronology shows that it contains grave errors, and
. that before the 5th century considerable deductions must be made from
the antiquity ascribed to the events recorded. The date 286 A.D.,
apparently accepted by Dr. Edkins as accurate for the embassy of the
Korean Achiki (as Motowori pronounces the name), should be placed
perhaps about the year 400. There is no evidence that Wani (]£tl),
the professor who came over to teach* Chinese to the Mikado's heir-
apparent, taught him the so-called Go-on. This is the hypothesis of
Motowori ; but other Japanese writers, such as Arawi Haku-seki and
Da-zai Shiyun-tai have held the opposite opinion, the fact being that
nothing certain is known about the matter, not even that the Go-on
and Kan-on were derived from the parts of China ruled over by the
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SATOWt REPLY TO DR. EDKINS ON " CHI " AND "*TSU." 165
different dynasties known as Han and Wu. It is equally uncertain
whether the Go-on is more ancient than the Kan-on or vice versa, so
that arguments based on the former supposition are in reality without
foundation. Dr. Edkins describes the Tan-in (which he miscalls To on) as
" a sort of metropolitan pronunciation, probably representing the language
as spoken in the Tang dynasty at the Chinese capital. In 605 five Japanese
students spent a year at that city." But as Mr. Aston explains in the
introduction to the second edition of his " Grammar of the Japanese
Written Language," this is a term applied by the Japanese to the modern
official Chinese language. It has nothing to do with the dynasty which
was called T'ang, and is of comparatively recent introduction, certainly
not before the 17th century. In fact the Tau-in was introduced by the
the monks of Wau-baku-San, near Uji in Yamashiro, towards the end
of the 17th century, about 800 years after the T'ang dynasty came to an
end, and it was called Tau-in because it was supposed to be the " Chinese
sound " of the Chinese characters at the time of its introduction.
Go-on and Kan-on, in the same way, probably meant nothing more than
the " Chinese sound/' or what was thought to be the Chinese sound, at
the period when they respectively became the fashion. So we have, as
Mr. Aston observes in the introduction to his r< Grammar of the Written
Language," Kan frequently occurring in compounds in the sense of
.' Chinese/ and Go in Go-foku (silk goods) no donbt equally meant
Chinese when it first became a current phrase. " Kibidaishi," mentioned
by Dr. Edkins as the inventor of the kata-kana syllabary, is called Eibi
Dai-zhin fc)tgi ), not Dai-shi. . He was not a Buddhist monk, but a
minister at the court of the Mikado.
Dr. Edkins states that " the sound intended by flrf the
Japanese wu> was at first ng. Afterwards the sound ng became
attached to the symbol y, and the letter wu passed from a nasal
into a vowel." This amounts to saying that the original value
of gr, when* it was adopted by the Japanese to represent one of
the sounds of their language, was ng, which is certainly not the
case. The Chinese character from which gr is derived is probably
^&, which is one of the characters anciently used in spelling words
where the later kata-kana £r is now employed. Other Chinese char-
acters used concurrently with *£ were ^, ff , ft and J|, the modern
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106 SATOtf: REPLY TO DR. EDKINS ON " CHI " AND " TSU."
sounds of which in some dialects are w, ii, iu, yii, o find w. It can
hardly be supposed that the Japanese originally adopted either of these
to represent ng. They did not invent kana for the purpose of marking
the sounds of Chinese characters, but for writing their own language, in
which ng probably did not exist at that period. The pronunciation of
Chinese characters was handed down ' orally, and those only had to' be
transliterated which had been naturalized as Japanese words — and these
were extremely rare up to the beginning of the 11th century. The
earliest prose in kana contains hardly any words of Chinese origin.
There can be little doubt that £r was adopted to represent the vowel «,
and that being the nearest thing to the Chinese final ng, it was used to
represent it when the first dictionaries with transliteration were
compiled. .
It is the next paragraph but one (Study of the Chinese Characters, p.
181) that contains the statement to which I objected, namely, that " the
Japanese chi was first ti and di, and afterwards changed to chi, zhi. This
was between A. D. 280 and 605. This change did not take place in the
Chinese language, but in the Japanese. Thus "J* has never changed in
Chinese to clung, yet it is sounded by the Japanese chi ya wu. The
syllable changed its value therefore soon after A. D. 280." ZJd of
eourse should be ji (*f), but this is perhaps a misprint, just as in my
own remarks on this passage shiyau was wrongly printed ckiyau. The
last sentence here quoted appears to contain a justification of what I had
said, namely, that there was no reason to suppose that the sign <f> was
pronounced ti at the time of its adoption, for no one supposes that the
kata-kana or hira-gana had been invented or had come into use until the
8th century at the earliest, long after the period at which Dr. Edkins
says that the change occurred. But this does not agree with what he
asserts in the paper before the. Society.
He maintains " that the sound was ti at the time and afterwards
changed its value. If they had no ti in their language they would have
made one." This is not likely. There were many other characters and
sounds which the Japanese could not transliterate accurately, the final ng
being one of them ; such as 3j|, J||, £, wh\ch have to be spelt shi ya
and shi yo, though those spellings were much farther from the Chinese
pronunciation than sha and sho would have been. • So also chi ya for
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SATOW: BEBLY TO DB. EDKINS ON " Cttl " AND "«rSU." ' 167
«£, chi yu for {£, chi yo for *J*, instead of cha, chu and cho, which are
nearer to the original sounds than the make-shifts adopted by the
Japanese to represent them. In these spellings the y seems to have
been used instead of the simple vowel, because the ancient Japanese
could not pronounce two vowels directly following each other, and either
y or w had to be inserted. Perhaps this is a ground for thinking that
£f was at first wu and then degenerated into u. Syllabic characters for
sha, sho, chaf chu, cho would have been very useful for writing Chinese
words, and there was every reason to invent such, if the Japanese had
been inclined to supply new wants in that way. As they did not contrive
anything new, but simply turned the existing material to account in
these cases, there would be even less likelihood of their making a new
kana for ti, the necessity of which was less apparent, if they had chi,
which was near enough for their purpose. It is not to be supposed
that the Japanese were any more precise about preserving the correct
pronunciation of Chinese words adopted into their own language then,
than they are now in the case of words which they take from modern
European languages. Dr. Edkins asks whether there are any
Japanese who cannot pronounce ti and tu ? The experience of every
teacher of foreign languages in this country must be that they can, if
trouble is taken to teach them, but that it requires an effort on their part
to overcome their native tendeney to Bay chi and tsu.
If "tsu is t in certain positions" that does not prove very much.
In Japanese words where this tsu is found, it is a mere phonetic device
for aiding to represent a tt which is a corruption of something else.
Thus motte and yotte are corruptions of mochite and yorite, the former of
which was mote in the earlier Japanese. All these double consonants
are comparatively modern in Japanese words. Thus mattaku, written
-* y 9 9 , was formerly mutaku ; massugu, -*y%if, perfectly
straight, was ma sugu; mappira, -* y g 7, humbly, was ma hira. In
compound words of Chinese origin a final tsu in the first element
becomes k, p, st t, according to the nature of the consonant which follows,
and arguing from these cases it was natural to adopt the habit of
representing the first part of a double consonant in Japanese words by
' the same device. It is in any case quite a modern practice!
The arrangement of the kana in groups of five is much later than
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168 SATOW I REPLY TO DR. EDKINB ON " CHI " AND " TSU."
their invention. If the arrangement in fives were earlier, we should no
doubt have had a complete and symmetrical arrangement of fifty kana
altogether. But the iroha is far older. Even in the kuwan-gen oii gi
(1185) and the abridged Wa-miyau Sen (1546) the characters given are
Chinese, and the " Scheme of the Fifty Syllables and Finals " in kana
has only been presented by the modern grammarians of the last hundred
years. Motowori thinks that the table was constructed for the use of
monks who studied Sanskrit. Even if that were the case, the conscious-
ness of every Japanese that in inflecting a verb with a root ending in a
dental the change was chi, tsu, ta and te would lead him spontaneously
to range all four in the same column, without his pronouncing y and
^ as tu and ti.
I do not dispute the position that tu and ti may be the old sounds
and tsu and chi corruptions, but I maintain that there is no evidence
that such a change took place subsequently to the invention of the
kata-kana and hira-gana, and as I have shown by a quotation from his
writings on the subject, Dr. Edkins himself 'ascribes the change to a
period many centuries anterior to the use of the popular syllabaries.
The argument that because they write Chinese words like ts'un,
inch, with an initial s instead of ts, the Japanese cannot have possessed
the syllable tsu when the transliteration was fixed, is very plausible. 'In
fact, not only in the case of ts'un, but also in that of all other modern
Chinese syllables, beginning with ts, as (tsu, ts'u, tsou, ts'ou, tsuh, tsluh,
tsun, tsung,) tsa, tsai, tsan, tsang, tseng, tsao, tse, tsi, tsiang, tsbig, tso,
the Japanese initial belongs to the dental sibilant series, and is either
sa, se, or shi, simply because the Japanese not having tsa, tse and tsi
in their syllabary, used the nearest approach they possessed. ' The
transcription son (originally somu) must have come from Chinese tson,
which they could not render with exactness, as they had no tso, and as
already observed, they preferred helping themselves out with what
already existed ready to their hand, to inventing new instruments for
recording sounds. As they did this in the cases of tsa, tse, tsi and tso
it is not to be wondered at that they used su for tsu.
An analysis' of the modern Chinese syllables which begin with ch,
shows that by far the largest number have <f> in the Japanese tran-
scriptions, those which begin with ?/ being next most numerous, while
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SATOW: REPLY TO DR. EDKINS ON " CHI " AND " TSU." 169
the rest begin with T > -te » 9 , and -tf- . It seems natural to infer that
the words transcribed by the Japanese with 5/ , ^ and ■#• had an
initial t, and that tsi, tse and tsa have since become chi> che and cha in
China, while the consonant transcribed with -^ had already undergone
the change into ch. In other words that some of the Chinese sounds
which have now an initial ch had ch and others ts at the time the Japanese
transcription was settled. In a few cases there are two transcriptions,
e.g. <$?, which is both sa and chiya, showing that . the word was tsa in
one and cha in the other dialect from which the Go-on and Kan-on were
imitated.
In the Man-yefu-shifu and Ko-zhi-ki the characters where we now
have the kata-kana <+ are §&, §, jg, jj§, Jjjfc, and JJj, all of which,
excepting the last, are chi or chH in the modern Chinese, and were
probably so in the dialect from which the Japanese adopted them. It is
clear that the Japanese did not possess both chi and ti, and they would
pronounce both in accordance with their capacity, and then apply
both to the purpose of recording the native syllable. For shi they used
^, #, with g, 3§, ^, ±, and J$, for zhi, besides <fg, gf, j§, jg
and j£, of which they omitted the final, in the Maii-yefu-shifu, and in the
Ko-zhi-ki #f, j=g, gjj, £5 , $£, ^, for sfti, with ^ and g for £/«*.
Some of these begin with ch, others with s, sh or ts in the modern
Mandarin ; in the last three cases it is evident that the Japanese adopted
two almost without change and omitted the initial t of the other, and if
the present ch is simply a changed ts then that case is also disposed of.
The signs used for tsu in the same early books are gf, jj£, gg, jg,
and jg, of which the first three were adopted entire, the remaining two
being shorn of their finals. They must have been originally pronounced
tu, ton and tung in the Go -on from which all but the last were taken ;
the Kau-on are to, tou, tou, and tou (for tony). Tsum is the Kan-od, tai
the Go- oil of 3^, so that this kana was taken from the Kaii -611,. which is
rather curious. All other syllables which have tu in modern Chinese,
have to or ta in the Japanese transcription, with a very few exceptions
in which the initial consonant is s, owing to a difference in the dialect
imitated.
I entirely agree with Dr. Edkins' remarks as to the use of A- in
vol. viii. 22
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170 BATOW: REPLY TO DR. EDKIN8 ON " CHI " AND " TSU."
Japanese to represent the Chinese A. There certainly is not at the present
day, and probably never was, any such sound as a guttural h in the Japanese
language, and a modern Japanese, if asked to pronounce a Chinese word
beginning with h, would inevitably change it into ft. The letter A in
Japanese is an aspirated labial, and is used in transliterations by
Europeans because it conies nearer to the Japanese consonant than any
other letter in our alphabet, except before u, when it appears to be
pronounced more like /. Probably the sound was / before the other
consonants in earlier times, but we have no evidence when the change
from / to h took place in the standard speech of the metropolis. In the
earlier Japanese literature the sonants were undistinguished from the
surds and aspirates by any marks, and the earliest example of a work in
which the nigori was used is the Miyau-moku Seu1 (fa |f $£)t which
was printed from an exact transcript of a copy made in the year
1500, as the eolophon at the end of the volume states, special care
having been taken to insert the nigori and other marks of the original
MS. The fact seems to have been that it mattered little whether the
sonant or the surd were used, or in the case of labials, whether the sonant
or the aspirate were pronounced, at a period when each syllable was
given uncontracted and unaltered. Even at the present day a Japanese
will often find it difficult to decide which ought to be used in the case of
a particular name, a familiar example of which is the dispute whether
we ought to say Ohozaka or Ohosaka for the great commercial city at
the mouth * of the Yodo-gaha. It appears, however, that in the 8th
century the difference was recognized, for in the Ko-zhi-ki different kana
were used for the sonants and surds with considerable consistency.
But I do not think that any evidence exists by which the period at
which the aspirate labial h sprang into existence can be determined. If the
Japanese of the capital had already acquired the habit of pronouncing /
so carelessly as make it sound in most cases like ht they would not have
taken the trouble to learn' the Chinese p, although recognizing that it
was closely related to their own sound, and they would therefore have
no hesitation in adopting Chinese words beginning with p for their own
1 The apparent author was Sanehiro Sa-dai-zhin, who was appointed to that
office in 1455. The copy was made in 1500 and the transcript belonged to Yama-
Bhina Dai-na-gofi, b. 1507, d. 3579.
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SATOW: REPLY TO DB. EDKINS ON " CHI " AND " TBU." 171
1 pure ' labial. We do not know when the terms sumi (sei) and nigori
(daku) were first employed, though it is clear from the above quoted
colophon that they are anterior to the end of the 15th century. What I
wish to point out is that the inventor of these terms evidently looked
upon the surd or aspirate as the original sound (*umt=pure) and the
sonant as the corruption of it (nt#on=foul), so that if h and / are
descended from p, the change took place so early that all memory of it
had been lost when the Japanese first began to discuss these questions,
and that a tradition to the contrary must have then existed.
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( 172)
CATALOGUE OF THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
By T. Blaxiston and H. Pryer.
[Bead January 13, 1880.]
Introduction.
Since the publication of Temminck and Schlegel's Fauna Japonica,
the materials for which were mostly supplied by Dr. Franz von Siebold,
who may be fairly styled the father of Natural History in Japan — no
comprehensive treatise on the ornithology of this country has been
written, although various papers have been published in scientific
journals on collections made, notably Cassin's " Report 'on Commo-
dore Perry's U. S. Expedition "; Blakiston, " On the Ornithology
of Northern Japan," published in the Ibis of October, 1862 ; Mr. H.
Whitely, " On Birds collected near Hakodate," Ibis, 1867, p. 198 ; and
several contributions bj&the late Mr. R. Swinhoe on the birds of Yezo, to
the lb is, from April, 1 874, to April, 1877 ; as- well as a preliminary
catalogue furnished by the present compilers to the Ibis, and published
therein in July, 1878, and Mr. H. Seebohm's notes on the same, also
published in the Ibis.
Few persons living in Japan, unless specially interested in
ornithology, have probably seen any of the above, and the nomenclature
having been scientific only, it has been suggested to the authors of this
paper that a contribution to the " Transactions of the Asiatic Society of
Japan," which has so large a local circulation, might, if not made too
scientific, be of assistance to persons interested in the ornithology of
Japan, as well as of interest to sportsmen 'and others who incidentally
obtain specimens of birds and who may frequently be able to contribute
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BLAKISTON AND PRYEB! ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 178
information of much value. Consequently the following catalogue has
been compiled, which, however, must not be taken as in any way
complete, the authors trusting only that its publication will elicit fuller
information on the range of known species, as well as tend to the
discovery of the existence of others; so that they, or some more
competent persons, may at a future time be able to revise it with a view
to republication. They will therefore be happy to receive specimens,
either skinned or fresh, of any birds whatever, and will undertake to
furnish the senders with the names, when known, or any other
information in their power, specially recommending collectors to pick
up birds qf unattractive appearance, as it is usually among such that
rarities are to be found. They will also undertake to make public the
name of the finders, and to return the specimens, if so desired, after
comparison. In this way it is hoped that very eonsiderable additions
may be made to the knowledge of the avi-fauna of Japan, which has a
special interest among ornithologists owing to the situation of these
islands off the extreme east of the continent of Asia.
As a sample of what may be done by very limited research,
the compilers may mention that the "Fauna Japonica" list, which
included many very doubtful species, and others on the sole authority
of Japanese drawings, did not number two hundred distinct species,
whereas the present catalogue extends beyond three hundred, and, as
has been mentioned before, is probably very far from being a complete
one.
The compilers have examined and compared most of the specimens
of birds existing in the government museums at Toukiyau, namely in the
Yamashita Haku-butsu-kuwan of the Nai-mu-shiyau, in the Eeu-iku
Haku-butsu-kuwan of the Mon-bu-shiyau, and in the Eai-taku-shi at
Shiba ; besides the museum of the Kai-taku-shi at Satsuporo, in Yezo, as
well as the collections of Mr. Ota of Toukiyau, Drs. Manning, Ahlburg
and Hilgendorf, and Mr. F. Ringer of Nagasaki. They have, moreover, a
number of specimens in their private collections, and the Hakodate
Museum — which is open to public inspection — contains most of the
specimens collected principally in Yezo and the Kurile Islands by one of
the authors and Mr. N. Fukushi, Chief of the Survey Department of the
Hoku-kai-dou.
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174 ' BLAKISTON AND PEYEE! ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
The compilers* thanks are due to several persons who have supplied
them with specimens, and to Mr. Tanaka, director of the Haku-butsu-
kawan, who allowed them to examine a collection of drawings by native
artists ; while Mr. Ota's intimate knowledge of the birds of hiB own
country has been of much assistance.
The arrrangement of this catalogue is that of Dr. Carl Clans in his
Grundzuge der Zoologie, a perhaps rather unusual classification ; but
the best ornithological authorities so differ on thiB matter, that it is of
very little consequence what system is followed.
All species included in the following list have the authorities on
which they rest stated ; and duplicates have in most instances been sent to
Europe for comparison to the late Mr. R. Swinhoe— who was the greatest
authority on the birds of Eastern Asia — Dr. P. L. Sclater, Secretary of
of the Zoological Society of London, and Mr. H. Seebohm, with whom
the compilers are still in correspondence. Such identifications are
enumerated under each species, and the volume an<l page of the Ibis, the
best ornithological magazine in Europe, referred to.
Beauty, Song, Etc. — A very common remark made by foreigners
here, is that this country possesses few birds, and those that are found
are not Temarkable for either beauty or song. To some extent this is
true of the neighbourhood of the settlements, but it is a great mistake to
suppose that the Japanese birds are at all deficient, either in numbers or
other respects, in the wilder parts of the country.
As an examplo of this, one of the writers made a hurried visit to
Fuji-sail for the purpose of collecting birds, and although the weather was
very unfavorable during the few days he was there, 44 species were
obtained and a number of others observed. Among those obtained were
several specimens of Tchitrea Princeps. When alive, this bird rivals
in beauty any denizen of the tropics. The head is crested and glossy
black, merging into a rich purple on the back ; the breast is creamy
white, the wings are dark, and the tail has two long feathers
sixteen inches in length. Around the eye it has a fringe of skin of a
torqnoise blue, and the beak, which is large, is of the same color.
Beautiful in itself, it delights in choosing nature's most picturesque spots
in which to build its nest. This pretty little structure is often placed at
the end of a moss-fringed branch overhanging the little mountain brooks,
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BLAKI8T0N AND PBYEBI ON THE. BODS OF JAPAN. 175
which come foaming over the grey, fern-clad boulders. Three species
of Thrushes, all good songsters, abound on Fuji- sail. Two of the
Flycatchers, Xanthropygia Narcissina and Cyanoptila Cyanomelana,
both very beautiful, sing sweetly, and the chorus of birds there in the
early morning is truly delightful.
Among other beautiful birds particularly noteworthy, Japan
possesses two species of Pheasants peculiar to the country. The
Mandarin Duck, although having a wide range, is quaintly beautiful
and not uncommon ; the Falcated Teal, and when flying in the sunlight,
the Japanese Ibis (Ibis Nippon). All these birds, to be appreciated, must
be seen alive and in full plumage,— dried specimens conveying but a
poor idea of the living examples.
Geographical Distribution. — We know that 180 of the species found
here also occur in China, and about 100 are identical with those of
Great Britain. Most of these have been carefully compared by the late
Mr. Swinhoe, and there are a number of others which approximate
very closely and ought, perhaps, to rank only as sub-species.
Nidification, Etc. — We think most of the birds included in our list
will be found breeding in some part or other of this country. We have
obtained eggs, nestlings, or young birds of 68 species, but have not had
an opportunity of visiting the breeding grounds of any of the sea birds,
which we know stop here all the year, or the number would be
considerably enlarged. The following we have obtained : —
Tinnunculus Japonicus, T. & 8.; Spizaetus Orientalis, T. & 8.;
MOvus Melanotis; Syrnium Uralense, T. & S.; Ninox Japonica;
Schoenicola Yezoensis, 8.; -Euspiza Sulphurata, T. & 8.; Emberiza
Personata, Pall.; Emberiza Ciopsis, Bp.; Alauda Japonica, T. & 8.;
Oreocinda Aurea, Pall.; Turdus Sibericus, Pall.; Turdus Chrysolaus, T.;
Tardus Cardis, T.; Hypsipetes Amaurotis, T.; Monticola Solitaria, Mull;
Ianthia Oyanura, Pall.; Lavivora Cyane, Pall.; Erythacus Akahige,
T. & S.; Cinclus Pallasi, T.; Troglodytes fumigatus, T.; Locustella,
cursitans, Frank; Phylloscopus coronatus, T. & 8.; Cettia Cantans,
T. & S.; Motacilla boarula, Scop.; Motacilla lugens, T. & S.; Anthus
maculatus, Hodg.; Acredula trivirgata, T.; Parus varius, T. & 8.; Parus
minor, T. & 8.; Tohitrea princeps, T. & 8.; Pericrocotus cinereus, Safr.;
Xanthopygia narcissina, T.; Cyanoptila cyanomelana, T. & 8.; Lanius
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176 BLAKISTON AND PRYEB: ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
superciliosus, L.; Lanius bucephalus, T. & S.; Sturnia pyrrhogenys,
T. & S.; Stomas cineraceus, T.; Garrulus Japonicus, Bp.; Nucifraga
caryocatactes, L.; Cyanopica cyanus, Pall.; Corvus corone, L.; Corvus
Japonensis, Bp.; Caprimulgus Jotaka, T. & S.; Chelidon Blakistoni, S.;
Cecropis erythropygia, Sykes ; Hirundo gutteralis, Scop.; Zosterops
Japonicus, T. & S.; Halcyon coromanda, Bodd ; Ceryle guttata, Vigors;
Alcedo Bengalensis, Gm.; Picus major, S.; Turtur gelastis, T.; Cdturnix
Japonica, T. & S.; Phasianus Soemmeringii, T.; Phasianus versicolor,
VielL; Gallinula chloropus, S.; Rallus Indicus, Blyth; Herodias garzetta,
S.; Nycticorax griseus, L.; Gallinago Australis, Lath; Lobivanellus
inornatas, T. & S.; Anas Zonorhyncha, S.; Podiceps Phillipensis, Bonn.
Japan possesses the advantage of covering a large area, running
north and south ; this is no doubt the cause of our finding many species
resident throughout the year only partially migrating from one part of
the country to another. Even some insect-feeding birds remain as far
north in winter as the neighbourhood of Yokohama, and one of the
miters remembers shooting together Ruticilla Aurorea and Ianthia
Cyanura, which were too busily engaged fighting to observe his approach,
during a snow storm in January, some years ago. The latter stays
high up Fuji-sari during the summer, and only migrates to the plains at
the foot in the winter, and Ruticilla Aurorea was observed wintering on
Ohoshima (Vriesl in considerable numbers. Cettia Cantans stops all the
year about Yokohama, and its song may be heard early in March.
Japanese Pheasants. — We have seen a pair of hybrids between
Phasianus Versicolor and Soemmeringii. The cock is exceedingly beautiful.
It has the head and tail of the Green Pheasant. The body is a shining
auburn, anil the tail is more fan-shaped and longer than the Green
Pheasant, but is barred like it. The hen is large, but otherwise hardly
differs from Phasianus Versicolor.
Phasianus Versicolor and the Chinese Phasianus Torquatus readily
iiiterbreed in a wild state, and Jhe progeny is generally larger than
either of the parents ; a number of Phasianus Torquatus were turned
out at different places near Yokohama, Kaube and Nagasaki a few
years ago, and more hybrids have since been shot than thoroughbred
P. Torquatus. Since these birds were turned out, quite a number of
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BLAKISTON AND PBYER ! ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 177
small birds having the plumage of the cock, bat which are undoubtedly
hens, have been procured. It is well known that this so-called
hermaphrodite state is accompanied by an organic defect, and we think
that there is good reason for supposing that those .wo have obtained
exhibiting this state of plumage may be the second generation of
hybrids, as some of the specimens show signs of the white ring round
the neck ; and further, the comparative abundance of this form since
Phasianus Torquatus was introduced leads us to think that hybridization
may be the cause of the defective organization. All these cock-hen birds
proved on dissection incapable of propagating their species.
Zoological line of Demarcation. — As far as our observations go,
the following birds are confined to Yezo : —
Harelda glacialis, Tetrates Bonasia, Picus Minor, Dryocopus Marti us,
Corvus Corax, Ampelis Garrula, Acredula Caudata, Leucosticte
Brunneinucha, Gecinus Canus, Garrulus Brandti. The following do not
cross the straits of Tsugaru northward : — Lobivanellus inornatus,
Phasianus Versicolor and soemmeringii Gecinus Awokira Gyanopica
Cyanus, Garrulus Japonicus, Acredula Trivirgata.
Further observation may prove that some of the above-mentioned
species are not strictly confined to these limits, but of the following six
species Gecinus Canus (Yezo), and Awokira (Main Island), Acredula
Caudata (Yezo), and trivirgatus (Main Island), Garalus Brandti (Yezo),
and Japonica (Main Island), it is interesting to observe how one -species
replaces the other in their respective districts. The Straits of Tsugaru
are from fifteen to twenty miles across, but the fauna and flora of the two
iaknds indicates a far greater difference than is shown by a glance at
the map of the two islands. These straits are doubtless a zoological
line of demarcation. For instance, in the mammalia the bear of Yezo
is a northern species, and the bear of the Main Island was for a long
time thought to be identical with the Ursus Thibetanus. Neither the
sheep-face antelope, Nemorhedus crispa, or the Japanese monkey, Innus
speciosus, or the boar, Sus leucomystax, have crossed the straits,
although both the antelope and monkey are well fitted to bear the
cold of Yezo, and are indeed found on the mainland bordering the
northern shore. We also find the same rule holds good with the
VOL. Till. 23
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178 BLAKISTON AND PEYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
pheasants, neither of which cross the straits, although abundant on
the extreme north of the main island. There is also a remarkajble
absence of Conifers in Yezo, although so very abundant south of the
straits. Probably when the Zoology and Botany of the islands
comprising Dai Nitsu-pon becomes better known, many more examples
will be forthcoming and will fully establish the existence of this
dividing line. Its cause is a question more for geological research
to establish; but we think that even supposing the distribution of
land. and sea to have been the same for- a vast period as it is at
present, a cold period which drove animals and plants southward to
a last refuge in the south of Japan, and the re-opening of the straits
of Tsugaru (which may be presumed to have been frozen during this
cold period) on the return of a temperate climate, but before those
animals and plants could redistribute throughout Nitsu-pon, 'would
account for the present dissimilarity between the fauna of the two
islands. It seems not even necessary to suppose the cold to have
been sufficiently intense to freeze over the Straits of Tsugaru, so long
as its duration was enough to kill out those forms of life which had
existed during a previous temperate or hot period ; at the same time
it must be remembered that the bear, Ursus Japonicus, monkey,
Innus speciosus, and pheasants seem to indicate a former connection
between Japan and the south.
Avi-fauna of the Bonin Islands. — During March, 1878, we paid a
hurried visit to these interesting islands. Jhe only birds obtained were
Hypsipetes Amaurotis, T. and S.; Monticola Solitaria, Mull, and Cettia
Cantans, T. and S.; a brown buzzard, plover and small finch were
seen. All three obtained were remarkable for length of bill and clearness
of song as* compared with specimens from the mainland, and Hypsipetes
* Amaurotis was especially large and dark. Mr. Webb, an intelligent
islander, gave us a list of 25 species of birds which he had seen on the
islands, amongst which was a parrot, which he described as having a red
breast, green back and yellow beak, as periodically visiting one of the
outlying islands when the nuts were ripe on a particular kind of tree. It
would be extremely interesting to obtain a specimen of this bird, which
would be perhaps one of, if not the most, northerly ranging species of
.the Psittiacidn known to exist.
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BLAKISTOK AND PRYER: ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 179
1. AlCA TORDA, L.
Razor-bill.
Given in the list of the * Fauna Japonica ;' no figure.
2. Mormon cirrhatum, Gm.
Pacific or Tufted Puffin. Jap. ' Yetopirika.'
(Seebohm, 'Ibis,' 1879, p. 21.)
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museum, and in the Hakodate Museum,
from the Kuril Islands, collected by Mr. N. Fukushi, Director of the
Survey Department of the Kai-taku-shi.
A very common bird in the Gulf of Tartary in summer.
3.' Mormon corniculatum, Naum.
Horned Puffin.
Male and female specimens in the Hakodate Museum. " Collected by
Mr. H. J. Snow, at the Kuril Islands.
4. Phaleris cristatblla, Pall.
Crested Auk. ^Fap. ' Itorofu umi-suzume.'
Mr. H. "Whitely obtained two specimens off the east coast.
(' Ibis,' 1867, p. 209). Specimens in the Hakodate Museum from the
Kuril Islands, collected by Mr. N. Fukushi. Specimen identified by Mr.
H. Seebohm. (' Ibis/ 1879, p. ). Collected by Mr. H. J. Snow at
the Kuril Islands.
5. Phaleris mtstacea, Pall.=P. Camtschaticus, Lepechin.
Specimen in the Hakodate Museum, collected by Mr. H. J. Snow
at the Kuril Islands. Wing measures 110 millimetres.
Commodore Perry's expedition procured examples at Shimoda and in
Toukiyau* Bay. (Cassin's Report Perry's Expedition. Vol. 2, p. 284.)
6. Phaleris pusilla, Pall.
Least Auk.
The Yamashita Haku-butsu-kuwan, Toukiyau, contains a dried
specimen from Kaga ; and in the Hakodate Museum is one collected in that
harbour in May. Both specimens are wanting the white over the eye
as in M. alle; the former has white bristles under the eye, and on the
front near the bill ; the Hakodate specimen has a trace in the latter
position. Length, about 6£ inches ; wing, 8 J to 4 inches.
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180 BLAKISTON AND PRYER: ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
7. Braohyrhamphus umisuzume, TFem.
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum, collected at Hakodate, and by
Mr. F. Ringer at Nagasaki. Also obtained by Commodore Perry's
expedition at Shimoda and in Toukiyau Bay. Given in the ' Fauna
Japonica.'
8. Braohyrhamphus antiqus, Gm.
Grey-headed Auk. Jap. ' Umi-suzume.'
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum from Hakodate and Toukiyau.
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums. Also obtained at Skotan Island,
off the east estremity of Yezo, by Mr- N. Fukushi.
Very abundant in Toukiyau Bay in winter.
9. Braohyrhamphus kittutzi, Brandt.'
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum, duplicates of which were
referred by the late Mr. B. Swinhoe to this species. (' Ibis,1 1874,
p. 166, et 1875, p. 458.)
10. Uria carbo, Pall.
Black-winged Black Guillemot. Jap. ' Keima-furi.'
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums and Hakodate Museum,
the latter collected on coast of the Yezo, where it is not uncommon.
(Swinhoe, ♦Ibis,' 1875, p, 458.)
Mr. H. Whitely included U. grylle in his list ('Ibis,' 1867, p. 210),
probably in mistake for this species.
11. Uria troile, L.
Common Guillemot. * Jap. ' Umigarasu.' .
One specimen obtained at Hakodate, in the Museum there, is
referred to this species. ,
12. Uria brunnichi, Sab.
Brunnich's Guillemot. Jap. * Ugamo/
Specimens collected in Yezo and the Kuril Islands in the Hakodate
Museum. (Seebohm, « Ibis,* 1879.)
18. Ceratorhyncha monocerata, Pall.
Horn-billed Guillemot. Jap. ' Utou.'
Very common on the eoast of Yezo. Specimens in {he Hakodate
Museum. (Swinhoe, 'Ibis/ 1874, p. 166.)
• Occasionally obtained in Toukiyau Bay.
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BLARISTON AND PETER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 181
14* Podiceps CORNUTUS, Gm.
Sclavonian Grebe.
Specimen in the Hakodate Museum, collected there, and by Mr. F.
Ringer at Nagasaki. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1875, p. 456 : Seebohm, ' Ibis,'
1879.)
15. Podiceps cristatus, L.
Great Crested Grebe.
Mr. H. Whitely included this in his list ('Ibis/ 18W, p. 208).
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum from that locality.
This is probably the bird figured in the ' Fauna Japonica * as
P. rubricollis major.
16. Podiceps phillipensis, Bonn'.
Jap. ' Kait8umuri.'
Breeds about Yokohama. Common on ponds and moats in Toukiyau ;
also common in Yezo in summer. Specimens in the Toukiyau
Museums and the Hakodate Museum from both localities. (Swinhoe,
• Ibis/ 1875, p. 456.) '
Nest built on the water, composed of dead-water plants. Eggs, 3
to 5, always very much decolored, 1^ in. long.
17. Podiceps auritus, lAth.=Nigricollisi Gml.
Eared Grebe. Jap. ' Hajiro-kaitsumuri.'
Common in Toukiyau Bay in winter, and in Yezo. Also obtained
by Mr. F. Ringer at Nagasaki. Specimens in the Hakodate Museum.
18. Colymbus arcticus, Linn. •
Black- throated Diver. Jap. ' Oho-hamu.'
Common in spring in Hakodate harbour. Also obtained by Mr. F.
Ringer at Nagasaki.
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum. (Whitely, ' Ibis/ 1867, p.
208: Seebohm, 'Ibis/ 1879, p. 22.)
A specimen sent to the late Mr. R. Swinhoe from Hakodate was
identified by him as C, adamsi, G. R. Gray. See remark by Mr. H.
Seebohm, ' Ibis, 1879, p. 22.
19. Colymbus septentrionaus, L.
Red- throated Diver. Jap. 'AmV
Occasionally obtained in Toukiyau Bay. Tolerably abundant in
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182 BLAKISTON AND PRYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely,
'Ibis,' 1867, p. 208 : Swinhoe, 'Ibis,' 1874, p. 168.)
20. Cygnus musicus, Bechst.
Hooper. Jap. ' Oho-haku-tcu.'
The common Swan of Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate, Toukiyau
and Satsuporo Museums. (Swinhoe, 'Ibis,' 1875, p. 456.)
Occasionally obtained about Toukiyau in winter. Three seen in the
Moat there,* among other wild fowl in January, 1876.
21. Cygnus bewicki, Yarr.
Bewicks Swan. Jap. ' Haku-teu.'
A specimen in the Kiyou-iku Haku-butsu-kuawii seems to agree
the figure and description of this species.
22. Anser segitum, Gm.
Bean Goose. Jap. ' HishikulnY
This goose seems pretty generally distributed throughout Japan.
Specimens in all the museums. Those in the Hakodate museum
were collected in Yezo. There seem to be two forms, — a large and
small, possibly separable, (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1875, p. 456.)
28. Anser braohyrhynchus, T.
Pink-footed Goose. Jap. 4 Ma-gan.'
Common in winter in Toukiyau Bay. Specimens in the Hakodate
Museum collected in Yezo. (Swinhoe, 'Ibis,' 1875, p. 456: Seebohm,
« Ibis,' 1879.) m
24. Anser albifrons, Gm.
White-fronted Goose. Jap. 4 Karigane.'
Common in Toukiyau Bay; seen as early as the beginning of
October. Passes Hakodate in spring and autumn. Specimens in the
Toukiyau and Hakodate Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1875, p. 456, et
1877, p. 146.)
25. Anser erythropus, Linn.
Jap. 'Ko-karigane.'
A miniature of the preceding species. Obtained in Toukiyau and
Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate Museum. (Seebohm, * Ibis,' 1879,
p. 22.)
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 188
26. Anseb cygnoides, L.
Jap. ' Sakatsura-hishikuhi.'
Figured in the ' Fauna Japonica., Specimens at the Haku-butsu-
kuwari and Kai-taku-shi Museum in Toukiyau. As in A. segitum there
are two sizes of this goose which may prove distinct.
27. Anseb hyperbobeus, Pall.
Snow Goose. Jap. ' Haku-gan.'
In large flocks in winter about Susaki, Toukiyau Bay. No speci-
mens yet sent to Europe for identification. There are said to be smaller
birds mixed with the flocks, whidh may prove to be A. attaints, Casrin.
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
28. Bernicxa leucopabia, Brandt.
Jap. • Shi-zhifu-kara-gan.,
A small species of the Canada goose form inhabiting the Pacific
coast of North America, and passing from the Arctic via Kamschatka to
Japan, where it does not seem to be abundant.
Specimens obtained i% the neighbourhood of Hakodate .are in the
Hakodate Museum. Also in the Toukiyau Museums. Obtained at
Yokohama.
29. Bebnicla tobquata, Jenyns.
Brent Goose. Jap. ' Koku-gaii.'
Obtained in the Toukiyau Bay. The winter sea-goose of Hakodate.
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum.
30. Anas boschas, L.
Mallard. Jap. ' Ma-gamo.'
As in Europe, the common " Wild Duck " in Japan. As far as we
know it does not breed Bouth of Yezo. (Swinhoe, * Ibis,' 1877, p.
146.)
81. Anas zonobhyncha, Swinh.
Dusky Mallard. Jap. 'Kari-gamo.'
Of the same form and size as the Mallard, and doubtless often
mistaken by sportsmen to be female or young Mallard. Can always
be distinguished by a yellow band across the bill. Seems to be very
generally distributed. Specimens from both islands in the Hakodate
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184 BLAKISTON AND PBYEB I ON THE BIKDS OF JAPAN.
Museum. Specimens in the Toukiyau Mdseums. A nest of eggs was
found in April on the lake at Uheno Park, Toukiyau. (Swinhoe, 'Ibis/
1874, p. 164).
82. AlX GALERICTJLATA, L.
Mandarin Duck. Jap. ' Oshi-dori.'
Breeds in Yezo, and on the Main Island. Is said formerly to have
built in the trees in Uheno Park, Toukiyau. Common on narrow, deep
streams.
Dives and hides in the overhanging bamboo thickets on the approach
of danger. Obtained at Nitsu-kuwau. Specimens in the Toukiyau
Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1875, p. 457.)
S3. Carsaca butila, Pall.
Buddy Shieldrake.
This bird is figured in native books, and is given in the ' Fauna
Japonica' list. We have been shown the wing- feathers, but have not
succeeded in obtaining a complete specimen.
84. Tadorna oornuta, Gmd. *
Common Shieldrake. Jap. ' Tsukushi-gamo.'
A full plumaged male presented by Mr. F. Ringer, who collected it
at Nagasaki, is in the Hakodate Museum.
85. MARECA PENELOPE, L.
Widgeon. Jap. 'Hidori.'
Swarms during winter in the Toukiyau Moats and Bay. Common
in Yezo in spring and autumn. Specimens in the Toukiyau and Hakodate
Museums. (Swinhoe, « Ibis,' 1875, p. 457.)
8G. Dafila acuta, L.
Pintail. Jap. ' Wo-naga-gamo.'
A very common duck in winter in Toukiyau ; passes Hakodate in
Spring and autumn. (Whitely, * Ibis,' 1867, p. 207 : Swinhoe, « Ibis/
1877, p. 147.)
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
87. QUERQUEDULA CRECCA, L.
Teal. Jap. « Ko-gamo.'
Very plentiful about Toukiyau in winter. Some remain in Yezo
during the same season, but more go south.
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BLAKISTON AND FRYER: ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 185
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely,
* Ibis/ 1867, p. 207 : Swinhoe, * Ibis/ 1877, p. 147.)
88. QUERQUEDULA CTRCIA, L.
Garganey Teal. Jap. * Shima-hazhi.'
One specimen obtained in the Toukiyau market by Mr. Ota. Now
in the Kiyou-iku Haku-butsu-kuwan Museum. Two specimens by Mr.
N. Fukushi at Satsuporo, Yezo, now in the Hakodate Museum.
89. QUERQUEDULA FALCATA, Pall.
Falcated Teal. Jap; ' Yoshi-gamo.'
Specimens from Nagasaki, Awomori and Yezo, in the Hakodate
Museum, also in the Toukiyau Museums. Common in Toukiyau Bay.
(Swinhoe, ' Ibis,1 1874, p. 164.)
40. Querquedula Formosa, Georgi.
Spectacled Teal. Jap. ' Azhi.'
Common in winter about Toukiyau. Ranges as far as the north
extremity of the Main Island, if not Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate
and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe, * Ibis,' 1877, p. 147.)
41. Spatula clypea?a, L.
Shoveller. Jap. ' Hashibiro-gamo.'
Generally distributed. Migrates with the other ducks. Yezo
specimens in the Hakodate Museum, also ' in the Toukiyau Museums.
(Swinhoe, « Ibis/ 1875, p. 457.)
42. Chaulelasmtjs streperus, L.
Gadwall. Jap. ' Okayoshi.'
Not uncommon among the wild fowl brought to market at
Yokohama. Another obtained in the same way is in the Hakodate
Museum. Resembles Q. falcata in summer plumage. An exceptionally
large specimen shot by "Mr. Whitfield north of Toukiyau, January,
1880. Specimens in the Toukiyau Musemus.
48. FULIGULA MARILA, L.
Scaup Duck. Jap. * Nakihashiro-gamo.'
Common in winter about Toukiyau. Remains at Hakodate in
spring about the latest duck. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau
Museums.. (Swinhoe, « Ibis,' 1875, p. 457.)
VOL. YI*. 24
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186 BLAKISTON AND PBYEB.* ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
44. FuLiGuiiA mabiloides, Vigors.
Lesser Scaup.
Specimen Bent from Yezo to the late Mr. Consul Swinhoe was
identified by him as this species.
45. Fuligula cbistAta, L.
Tufted Duck. Jap. ' Kinkurohajiro-gamo.'
A common duck daring winter in Toukiyau. Migrates to Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm, ' Ibis/
1879, p. 22.)
46. Fuligula febina, L.
Pochard. Jap. ' Hoahihajiro.'
One specimen obtained at Hakodate is in the Museum there.
Common in the early months of the year about Yokohama.
47. NtBocA febbuginea, Gm.
Jap. * Akahajiro.'
A few specimens obtained in Toukiyau and Yokohama, and Yezo
specimen in the Hakodate Museum. (Seebohm, ' Ibis/ 1879, p. 22.)
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
48. Clangula histbionica, L.
Harlequin Duck. Jap. ' Shinori-gamo.'
More common in Yezo than on the Main Island. Specimens in the
Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
49. Clangula glaucion, L.
Golden Eye. Jap. ' Hojiro-gamo.*
Probably the most numerous kind of sea- duck in Yezo. Generally
distributed about the coast. Frequents the rivers and bays south in
the winter. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
(Whitely, ' Ibis/ 1867, p. 208.)
50. Habelda glacialis, L.
Long-tailed Duck.
Common on the coasts of Yezo ; not yet found south. Specimens
in the Hakodate Museum. (Whitely, 'Ibis/ 1867, p. 208: Swinhoe,
« Ibis,' 1877, p. 147.)
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER: ON THE BIROS OF JAPAN. 187
51. SOMATERIA DI8PAR, Spamn.
S teller' s Western Duck.
Shot by Mr. H. J. Snow daring winter on Eturup, one of the Kuril
Islands. Specimen in the Hakodate Museum from Kamschatka.
52. (Edemia fusca, L.
Velvet Scoter. Jap. ' KiiTO-tori.'
Common in Yezo ; also obtained at Sendai, and occasionally about
Yokohama. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
(Swinhoe, • Ibis/ 1875, p. 457.)
58. (Edemia Americana, Rich.
American Scoter. Jap. * Kuro-gamo.'
Obtained in Yezo, and also in the Yokohama game- market. Speci-
mens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm, ' Ibis,1
1879, p. 28.)
54. Mebgulus albellus, L.
Smew. Jap. ' Miko-aisa.'
Specimens obtained at Yokohama and in Yezo ; the latter in the
Hakodate Museum. (Seebohm, • Ibis,* 1879, p. 28.)
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
55. Mergus castor, L. .
Goosander. Jap. 'Kawa-aisa.'
Near Toukiyau, and in Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate and
Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,* 1875, p. 456.)
56. Mergus sebbator, L.
Red-breasted Mesganser. Jap. 'Umi-aisa.'
Specimens obtained in Yezo, in the Hakodate Museum. (Swinhoe,
' Ibis/ 1875, p. 459.)
57. PhaiiAcbaoobax gabbo, L.
Cormorant. Jap. 'U.'
Great numbers roost on the trees at Babasaka, in the centre of
Toukiyau. Generally found throughout Japan. Specimens in the
Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' p. 164.)
58. Phalaobacobax pelagicus, Pall.
Resplendent Shag. Jap. 4 U-garasu.'
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188 BLAKISTON AND PEYER: ON THE BIRDS OF. JAPAN.
This bird seems to keep always on the sea, not found inland.
Great numbers roost at night on Treaty Point, Yokohama, daring the
winter, bnt do not stop daring the summer. Common on the coast of
Yezo. Specimens in the Tonkiyau Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1874,
p. 166, et 1877, p. 147.)
59. Phalacracorax bicristatus, Pall.
Double Crested Cormorant.
Figured in the ' Fauna Japonica.'
60. SULA LEUCOGASTRA, Bodd.
Gannet.
Given in the list of the ' Fauna Japonica ' as S. fusca.
61. Sterna fuuginosa, Lalto.
Sooty Tern.
Figured in the * Fauna Japonica.' •
62. Sterna minuta, L.
Lesser Tern. Jap. ' Ajisashi.'
An example shot in Toukiyau Bay by Mr. Dare, probably this
species. To be seen fishing on any of the rivers in summer about
Yokohama, where it breeds. Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
68. Sterna longipennis, Nordm.
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum from Yezo and Eamschatka,
collected by Mr. N. Fukushi. One killed by Mr.'H. J. Snow at Eturup
(Kuril Islands); sent to Mr. H. Seebohm for identification. (Seebohm,
« Ibis,' 1879, p. 28.)
Another obtained at Yokohama in May-.
64. Sterna ?
A wholly white Tern in the collection 6f the Yamashita Haku-butsu-
kuwan. May be Gygis Candida (Gmel.). (See Seebohm, * Ibis,' 1879,
p. 23.)
65. Labus crassebostris, Yieill.
Black-tailed Gull. Jap. ' Umeneko.'
The most abundant gull throughout Japan. Specimens in the
Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston, 'Ibis,' 1862, p. 882:
Swinhoe, « Ibis,' 1874, p. 161.)
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BLAKISTON AND PBYEB : ON THE BIBDS OF JAPAN. 189
•
66. Labus glaucus, Fobr.
Glaucous Gull or Burgomaster. Jap. ' Shiro-kamome.'
Specimens obtained at Hakodate, in the Museum, identified by
Mr. Howard Saunders. (See Swinhoe, * Ibis/ 1874, p. 165 : Seebohm,
•Ibis/ 1879, p. 28.)
67. Labus glaucescens, Licht.
Large Grey-winged Gull. Jap. * O-washi-kamome.'
Specimens obtained at Hakodate, in the Museum, identified by Mr.
Howard Saunders. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1874, p. 165 : Seebohm, ' Ibis,'
1879, p. 28.)
68. Labus gachinnans, Pall.
Mediterranean Herring-Gull.
Several .specimens collected at Hakodate by Mr. H. Whitely.
Were placed under the name of L. occidentalism Aud. (' Ibis,' 1867, p.
210.) Mr. Howard Saunders has decided that they should have been
named as above. (Seebohm, ' Ibis,1 1879, p. 24.)
Common about Yokohama in spring.
69. Labus canus, Linn.
Common Gull.
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum, collected in Yezo and
Kamschatka. Identified by Mr. Howard Saunders as a large race of
this species, probably L. niveus of Pallas. (Swinhoe, * Ibis,' 1874, p.
165 : Seebohm, • Ibis,' 1879, p. 24.)
70. Labus habinus, L.
Great Black-backed Gull. Jap. * O-seguro-kamome.'
Specimen identified by Mr. Howard Saunders. (Swinhoe; * Ibis,'
1874, p. 165 : Seebohm, ' Ibis,' 1879, p. 24.)
Specimen in the Hakodate Museum from that locality.
71. Labus leucoptebus, Faber.
Iceland Gull.
On the authority of a specimen from Yezo, identified by Mr.
Howard Saunders. (P.Z.S., 1878, p. 166.)
72. Labus delawabenbis, Ord.
Bing-billed Gull.
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190 BLAKISTON AND PRYER I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
A specimen collected by Mr. H. Whitely, at Hakodate, is in the
collection of Mr. Howard Saunders. (Seebohm, ' Ibis/ 1879, p. 24.)
78. Labus ridibundus, L.
Black-headed Gull. Jap. ' Yuri-kamom.'
Specimens obtained from various localities. Leaves Yezo in winter.
Assumes black head in April. .
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyan Museums. (Swinhoe,
• Ibis/ 1874, p. 165 165 : Seebohm, ' Ibis/ 1879, p. 24.)
74. Rissa tridactyla, L.
Kittiwake Gull.
A specimen obtained at Nemoro, at the eastern extremity of Yezo,
is in the Hakodate Museum. Another, collected at Toukiyau, is
referred to this species or R. septeutTJonalis of Lawrence, the North
Pacific Kittiwake, pending proper identification.
75. Stercorarius, sp. inc. *
Skua. '
Specimens in Hakodate Museum ; collected at Kuril Islands by Mr.
H. J. Snow.
76. Diomedea derogata, Swinhoe.
Flesh-billed Black Albatross. Jap. ' Kuro-ahodori. '
Common in Yezo at midsummer. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1874, p. 165.)
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museum.
77. Diomedea bhachyura, Temm.
Black and white Albatross. Jap. ' Ahodori.'
More abundant in southern than in northern Japan. The young
resembling D. Derogata. Is figured in the ' Fauna Japonica.' Speci-
mens in the Hakodate Museum from Yezo, and in the Toukiyau
Museums.
78. Fulmarus Teniurostris, Aud.
Slender-billed Fulmar.
Two specimens in the Hakodate Museum in immature plumage.
Obtained in the Kuril Islands by Mr. H. J. Snow.
79. Fulmarus pacificus, Lawrence=P. pacifica, Aud.
Pacific Fulmar.
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BLAKISTON AND PKYEB I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 191
Specimens obtained from the Kuril Islands in the Hakodate Museum.
(Seebohm, ' Ibis/ 1879, p. 25.)
80. Pbocellabia leucobbhoa, Yieill.
Storm Petrel. Jap. ' Umi-tsubame.'
Specimens from the Kuril Islands in the Hakodate Museum.* One
sent to Dr. P. L. Sclater in 1878. (' Ibis,' 1878, p. 218.)
81. Pbocellabia fubcata, Sould.
Fork-tailed Petrel.
A specimen in the Hakodate Museum from the Kuril Islands is
referred to this species.
82. PUFFINUS LEUCOMELAS, T. & S.
Shearwater.
Figured in the ' Fauna Japonica ' under this name.
88. PUFFINUS TENXJIBOSTBIS, T. & S.
Shearwater. Jap. 'Ume-kamome.'
A specimen obtained after a typhoon at Yoshino, Yamato, forty
miles distant from the nearest sea ; is now in the Kiyou-iku Haku-butsu-
kuwan collection. Agrees with the figure in the 'Fauna Japonica.'
Another picked up, very much decayed, on the beach at Kamakura.
84. Chabadbius fulvus, Gm.
Eastern Golden Plover. Jap. ' Muneguro-shigi.'
Common throughout Japan. Specimens in' the Hakodate and
Toukiyau Museums.
This bird has received the name of oiwitalis, and has also been
confounded with C. virginicus, but the latter is a larger species not yet
found. in Asia. (Swinhoe, 'Ibis,' 1874, p. 162, et 1875, p. 452:
Whitely, ' Ibis,' 1867, p. 204 : Seebohm, ' Ibis/ p. 25.)
85. jEgialitis cantiana, Lath.
Kentish Plover. Jap. ' Shiro-chidori.'
Specimens obtained in the Main Island and Yezo in the Hakodate
Museum ; also in the Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston, * Ibis ', 1862, p.
880 : Swinhoe, « Ibis,1 1875, p. 452.)
Common in winter about Yokohama.
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192 BLAKISTON AND PRYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
86. JEgialitis placida, Gray.
Harting's Band-Plover. Jap. ' Ikaru-chidori.,
Specimens collected in Yezo ; in the Hakodate Museum ; also in the
Tonkiyau Museums. Common in winter about Yokohama. (Swinhoe,
• Ibis/ 1874, p. 162.)
87. iEGiALins dubia, Scoy.=Curonica8, Gm.
Found breeding on the shores of Yamanaka Lake, Fuji-san; obtained
at Hakodate and Yokohama. Specimens in the Hakodate and 1'oukiyau
Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,1 1875, p. 452 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1869, p.
25.)
88. JEgiautis mongolica, "Bol\.=Ruficapillaf Temm.
Specimens obtained both from neighbourhood of Yokohama and
Hakodate, in the Hakodate Museum ; also in the Toukiyau Museums.
(E. geofroyi, which is distinct from this species, is said to be found in
Japan. (Seebohm, ' Ibis/ 1879, p. 25.)
89. Vanellus cristatus, Mey.
Lapwing. Jap. ( Tagere.'
Specimens obtained at Toukiyau and Niigata and at Hakodate
in Yezo ; it does not seem to be a common bird in Yezo, but is very
abundant about Kawasaki. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau
Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,1 1876, p. 884.)
90. LOBIVANELLUS INORNATTJS, T. & S.
Jap. 'Kire.'
This bird has not been found as far north as Yezo. Specimen in
the Hakodate Museum is from Toukiyau, also in the Toukiyau Museums*
Breeds about Susaki, Toukiyau. The male is very vigilant, mounting
high up in the air and with loud laughing cries driving off any kite or
hawk directly one appears hovering near where the hen is sitting. The
eggs are laid among the grass growing on the ridges which intersect the
paddy-fields ; they are four in number, and resemble the lapwing, but are
not so pointed. Breeds in April.
91. Squatarola helvetica, L.
Gray Plover.
• Common in spring and autumn in Yezo, but not so abundant as
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BLAKISTON AND PBYER I ON TEE BXBDS OF JAPAN. 198
the Golden Plover. Specimens in the Hakodate Museum. Common in
spring and autumn at Yokohama. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1875, p. 452.)
92. Stbepselas intebpres, L.
Turnstone. Jap. ' Kiyo-jiyau shigi.*
Seems to be more common on the Main Island than in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm, ' Ibis,'
1879, p. 26.)
98. Hjematopus osculans, Swinhoe.
Eastern Oyster-catcher. Jap. ' Miyako shigi.'
Specimens obtained about Yokohama, and in Yezo ; in the Hakodate
and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm, * Ibis,' 1879, p. 26.)
94. Totanus incanus, Gm.
Grey Sandpiper.
This is one of the most common Sandpipers in Japan. Specimens
from various localities on the Main Island and Yezo in the Hakodate
Museum.
It is figured in the 'Fauna Japonica1 as T. pulverulentus, and
included in Mr. H. Whitely's list (' Ibis/ 1867, p. 205) under that
name.
Specimens in spring and autumn plumage, which differ considerably,
were identified by the late Mr. B. Swinhoe. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1874, p.
168, et 1875, p. 458.)
95. Totanus glottis, L.
Greenshank. Jap. ( Awo-ashi chidori.'
Common in Yezo, and obtained about Yokohama. Specimens in the
Hakodate Museum.
This is probably the T. brevipes mentioned by M. Cassin. (Proc.
Acad. Phil. 1858.)
96. Totanus caltdeis, Bechst.
Common Redshank.
Specimens — probably this species — sent to Mr. H. Seebohm for
identification; appears to be not uncommon in the autumn about
Toukiyau.
97. Totanus fusous, L. #
Spotted Redshank.
vol. vm. * 25
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194 BLAKISTON AND PEYEB: ON THE BIBDS OF JAPAN.
Several specimens collected in Yezo, in the Hakodate "Museum. Also
obtained near Toukiyau. Specimens in the Museums there. (Swinhoe,
« Ibis,' 1875, p. 453.)
98. Totanus OCHEOPUS, L.
Green Sandpiper.
Examples from Toukiyau, Nagasaki, and several localities in Yezo
compared. Specimens in the Hakodate Museum. (Blakiston, .' Ibis/
1862, p. 330 : Swinhoe, ■ Ibis/ 1875, p. 458.)
99. Totanus glaeeola, L.
Wood Sandpiper.
Specimens from Yezo and the Kuril Islands in the Hakodate
Museum. (Whitely, 'Ibis,1 1867, p. 205: Swinhoe, 'Ibis/ 1874, p. 169.)
100. Tringoides hypoleucus, L.
Common on rivers, both on the Main Island and Yezo. Specimens
in the Hakodate Museum. Differences in plumage attributed to season
only. (Swinhoe, 'Ibis/ 1874, p. 168, 1875, p. 458.)
101. Limosa uropigialis, Gould.
Godwit. Jap. ' Kojiyaku chidori.'
Specimens from Toukiyau and Yezo in the Hakodate Museum.
This species is given in the ' Fauna Japonica ' as L, rufa, the Bar-tailed
Godwit of Europe, and is probably that noted by Cassin from Japan,
Proc. Acad. Phil. 1858. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1875, p. 458.)
102. Limosa bbevipes, G. R. Gray.
Godwit. Jap. ' Sorihashi chidori/
Specimens collected in Yezo in the Hakodate Museum. Specimen
in the Yamashita Haku-buteu-kuwan seems very dark ; may be another
species. (Swinhoe, * Ibis/ 1875, p. 453.)
103. Eecubvieostea avocetta, L.
Avocet.
This is given in the ' Fauna Japonica ' under the name of Limosa
recurvirostra. Mr. G. Hamilton states that he saw such a bird some
years ago at Sasaki, Toukiyau. ,
104. Tbinga orassirostris, T. & S.
# Eastern Knot.
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BLAKISTON AND PBYERI ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 195
A single specimen of this bird, which is figured in the ' Fauna
Japonica,' was obtained at Hakodate in 1861. (Blakiston, * Ibis/ 1862,
p. 880.) It is probably the species included by Cassin, as T. magna.
Proc. Acad. Phil. 1858. Specimens obtained in Yezo in the Hakodate
Museum. (Seebohm, 'Ibis/ 1879, p. 26.)
Common about Yokohama in the autumn.
105. Tringa ctnclus, Linn.
A number of specimens in the Hakodate Museum, having the. usual
variability of plumage and length of bill. Toukiyau and Yezo examples
compared. (Blakiston, ■ Ibis,1 1862, p. 880 : Swinhoe, « Ibis/ 1875,
p. 455.)
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
106. Tringa acuminata, Horsf.
Stint.
Specimens from Yezo in the Hakodate Museum ; often obtained
near Yokohama. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1875, p. 455.)
107. Tringa albescens, Gould.
Stint.
Obtained in Yezo, and at Yokohama. Specimens in the Hakodate
Museum. (Blakiston, 'Ibis/ 1862, p. 880, as Trtemmincki: Whitely,
'Ibis/ 1867, p. 206, as T. minuta: Swinhoe, 'Ibis/ 1875, p.
455.)
108. Tringa ruficollis, Pallus.
Stint.
Specimens collected in Yezo in the Hakodate Museum. Duplicates
were identified by the late Mr. R. Swinhoe as T. damacensis, Horsf.
(' Ibis/ 1875, p. 455.) Mr. H. Seebohm considers this bird should
stand as ruficollis. (' Ibis/ 1879, p. 26.)
109. Tringa maoulata, Vieill. (?)
Stint.
The existence of this species is doubtful. There are two specimens
which may be distinct in the Hakodate Museum. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1875,
p. 455.)
110. Calidris arenaria, L. •
Sanderling.
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196 BLAKISTON AND PRYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
Specimens obtained on the douth-east coast of Yezo in the Hakodate
Museum. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,1 1876, p. 454.)
111. Machetes pugnax, L.
Ruff.
A specimen obtained in Yezo, now in the Hakodate Museum, is
referred to this species.
112. LOBIPES HYPERBOREUS, L.
Bed-necked Ph alar ope.
Specimens in both spring and autumn plumage, collected in Yezo,
are in the Hakodate Museum. (Swinhoe, l Ibis,' 1875, p. 455.)
118. Lobipes wilsonh, Lob. (?)
Specimens collected by Mr. H. J. Snow on the Kuril Islands,
where he also found L. hyperboreusi in the Hakodate Museum. About
the same form and size as the American species.
114. EuBrNOBHYNCHUS PYGBL3SUS, L.
Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Jap. ' Hira-shigi.'
Two specimens obtained in Yezo of this peculiar bird are in the
Hakodate Museum. (Swinhoe, 'Ibis,* 1875, p. 455.) One obtained in
Yokohama in October and another by Mr. Ota at Toukfyau.
115. SCOLOPAX RUSTICOLA, L.
Woodcock. Jap* ' Hodo-shigi.,
The woodcock of Japan in not distinguishable from that of Europe.
It varies much in shade of plumage, and sometimes is found entirely of
a creamy white. . It seems to be generally distributed, but is only found
in Yezo during the warm season. Specimens in the Hakodate and Tou-
kiyau Museums. (Whitely, * Ibis,' 1867, p. 206 : Swinhoe, « Ibis,* 1877,
p. 145: Seebohm, 'Ibis,' 1879, p. 26.)
116. Gallinago Australia, Lath.
Great Australian Snipe. Jap. ' Yama-shigi.'
This bird was obtained on Fuji-san in June and July. It is
common in Yezo, where it was first discovered «to be a Japanese bird in
1861. (Blakiston, ' Ibis/ 1868, p. 100.) Specimens in the Hakodate
Museum. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1868, p. 444, et 1874, p. 168 : Seebohm
4 Ibis/ 1879, p. 26.)
Breeds at the foot of Fuji-sail.
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER '. ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 197
117. Galunago scolopacina, Bp.
Common Snipe. Jap. * Ji-shigi.'
Common throughout Japan. Specimens from several localities in the
Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. The plumage is darker in autumn
than in spring, owing to which the late Mr. R. Swinhoe considered that
some of the specimens sent him were the American species, G. mhonii,
but these have subsequently been carefully compared by Mr. H. Seebohm
with European examples, who pronounces all to be G. scolopacina.
(Swinhoe, 'Ibis,1 1874, p. 163, et 1875, p. 454: Seebohm, « Ibis/
1879, p. 27.)
118. Galunago Solttabia, Hodgs.
Common at Yokohama ; often found on up-lands. Found also at
Nagasaki and a few in Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau
Museums. (Swinhoe, • Ibis,* 1877, p. 146.)
Mr. H. Whitely included G. medium his list (' Ibis,1 1867, p. 206),
which probably referred to this species.
119. Gallinagx) gallinula, L.
Jack Snipe.
This is evidently a rare bird in Japan. Mr. Whitely obtained only
one at Hakodate (' Ibis,' 1867, p. 206), and there is only one in the
Hakodate Museum, which has been carefully compared with a European
example. Another shot by Mr. Olmsted near Yokohama in October,
1879.
N. B. — The Painted Snipe will be found in this order of classification
between the Cranes and Bails.
120. PSEUDOSCOLOPAX SEMIPALMATUS, Jordon. .
One specimen obtained in Yezo, in the Hakodate Museum, is referred
to this species. .
121. NUMENIUS MAJOR, T. & S.
Curlew. Jap. ' Oho-shiyaku shigi.'
Hakodate specimens in the Museum there agree with the * Fauna
Japonica' plate. (Whitely, 'Ibis/ 1867, p! 205: Swinhoe, 'Ibis,'
1876, p. 884.)
122. NUMBNITTS MINOR, T. & S.
Curlew. Jap. ' Shiyaku shigi.1
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198 BLAKISTON AND PRYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
This diminutive curlew is figured in the ' Fauna Japonica.'
128. Numenius au stralis, Gould.
. Curlew.
Yezo specimens in the Hakodate Museum. Identified by the late
Mr. R. Swinhoe. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1876, p. 884, et 1868, p. 445.)
124. Numenius phcepus. Lath.
Whimbrel. Jap. 4 ito-shiyaku-shigi.'
Obtained both near Toukiyau and in Yezo. Specimens in the
Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. This is probably the N. tahitensis of
Perry's expedition. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1877, p. 146.)
125. Ibis nippon, T. & S.
Japan Ibis. Jap. ' Toki.1
Common on the flats around the head of Toukiyau Bay. Breeds in
Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
• Ibis,' 1875, p. 455.)
126. Ibis pbopinqua, Swinh.
Ibis. Jap. ' Kuro-toki.'
Not uncommon about Ohomori, Toukiyau. One specimen from that
locality in the Hakodate Museum. Not observed in Yezo, and no
specimen yet sent to Europe for identification. Specimens in the Tou-
kiyau Museums.
127. Platalea major, T. & S.
Spoonbill. Jap. ' Hira-sagi.' «
Not a common bird. 'Mr. H. Whitely obtained a specimen at
Hakodate (' Ibis,' 1867, p. 204), and another procured there is in the
Hakodate Museum.
P. minor of the ' Fauna Japonica ' is now considered to be only a
small example of the above. (Seebohm, ' Ibis,' 1879, p. 27.)
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
128. Nycticorax griseus, Linn.
Night Heron. Jap. ' Seguro-gowi.'
Generally distributed in South Japan. Eggs and young obtained
from a heronry below Kauchi Castle, Tosa, in July. Nest placed on
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 199
highest branches of tall trees. Eggs a white bluish green color.
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum from Toukiyau. Also in the
Museums there. (Swinhoe, 'Ibis,' 1877, p. 146.)
129. Goisachtus melanolophus, Raffles.
Jap. 'Miso-gowi.'
This is probably the Ardea gaisagi of the ' Fauna Japonica,' which has
been confounded with the young of the common Night Heron. Several
specimens obtained about Toukiyau. No examples have been sent to
Europe for identification.
180. BOTAURUS STELLARIS, L. *
Bittern. Jap. * Sankano-gowi.'
Observed about' Toukiyau. Specimens obtained in Yezo in the
Hakodate Museum ; also in the Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,'
1875, p. 455.) -
181. Abdetta sinensis, Gm.
Chinese Little Bittern.
Specimens obtained in Yezo and at Nagasaki in the Hakodate
Museum ; also in the Toukiyau Museums. The Ardea scapularis of
the 4 Fauna Japonica ' is possibly referrible to this species. (Seebohm,
'Ibis,'1879, p. 27.)
182. Ardetta eurhythma, Swinh.
Von Schrenck's Little Bittern. Jap. « Yoshi-gowi.,
Specimens obtained in Yezo in the Hakodate Museum. (Swinhoe,
• Ibis,' 1876, p* 885.)
188. Ardea cinerea, L.
Common Heron. Jap. ' Awo-sagi.'
Occasionally seen about Toukiyau. An example from Nagasaki
compared. Specimens obtained in Yezo and at Awomori, in the
Hakodate Museum ; also in the Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,'
1876, p. 885.)
184. Herodias modesta, Gray.
Great Egret. Jap. * Oho-sagi.'
This bird is generally considered by ornithologists as only a small
race of H. alba of Europe. (Seebohm, ' Ibis,' 1879, p. 27.) It arrives
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200 BLAKISTON AND FBYEB : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
at Toukiyau in April, and is tolerably abundant. Specimens obtained at
Hakodate, in the Museum there; also in the Toukiyau Museums.
(Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1876, p. 885.) .
185. Hbbodias intebmedia, Wagl.
Egret. Jap. * Chiu*sagi.'
Specimens agree with A. egrettoides figured in the ' Fauna Japonica.'
Bill bright orange, tipped with horn color in summer. Specimens from
Toukiyau and Yezo in the Hakodate Museum ; also in the Toukiyau
Museums.
186. Hebodias garzetta, Linn.
Little Egret. Jap. ' Shira-sagi.'
A very common bird in South Japan. Specimens sent to Mr. H.
Seebohm for identification. (Seebohm, ' Ibis,* 1879, p. 27.) Nests in
tall trees. Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
187. Hebodias bussata, Wagl.
Buff-backed Egret. Jap. ' Ama-sagi.'
Seems to be rather abundant in the south. Several examples in
the Museums in Toukiyau. No specimen yet sent for identification to
Europe. Is included in the ' Fauna Japonica.'
Note. — Mr. Ota has two specimens of a black Egret, obtained on
the Island of Tsushima, in the Sea of Japan.
188. Hebodias,—?
One specimen procured in Hakodate, now in the museum there.
Measurements are : — Length, 488 mm.; wing, 200 mm.; bill-ridge, 60
mm. Head and neck resemble the Night Heron ; wings nea/ly white,
back dark mouse colour, belly white.
189. Ciconia boyciana, Swinh.
Japan Stork. Jap. ' Ko-dzuru.'
This bird was described as new from Japan by the late Mr. It.
Swinhoe. It is occasionally obtained about Toukiyau. There are
living examples in the gardens of the Yamashita Haku-butsu-kuwaii* and
a skin in the Eiyou-iku Haku-butsu-kuwan, and both Drs. Manning and
Ahlburg preserved specimens.
140. Gbtjs communis, Bechst.=Ci'wma, Bechst.
Common Crane.
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BLAKISTON AND FRYEB: ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 201
Figured in the ' Fauna Japonica ' as Grus cinerea hngirostris ; is
considered to be the same as the common Crane of Europe. »
141. Grus leucogeranus, Pall.
White Crane.
Figured in the 'Fauna Japonica' in white plumage, with rust
brown head, or all white, vermilion bill and legs. Is considered to be
the White Crane of Europe.
142. Grus leucauchen, T. .
Crane. Jap. * Tan-chiyau.'
This is the national Crane of Japan, so commonly given in native
drawings, and much and deservedly admired. It was formerly only
allowed to be hawked with great ceremony by nobles of the highest
rank. Live examples may be seen at the Yamashita Haku-butsu-kuwan.
A specimen obtained near Satsuporo, Yezo, as late as January, is in the
Hakodate Museum.
148. Grus monachus, T.
Crane. Jap. ' Nabe-dzuru.'
Not uncommon in the neighborhood of Toukiyau, from which
locality is a specimen in the Hakodate* Museum. Figured in the
4 Fauna Japonica.'
144. Grus antigone, Linn.
Crane. Jap. * Mana-dzuru.'
This is the most abundant Crane, and is a choice game-bird with
the Japanese. It is distinguished from the young of the ' Tafi-chiyau ' by
the long tertial plume feathers being white. There is a specimen in the
Kai-taku-shi Museum at Toukiyau, said to have been procured in Yezo.
From the description sent Mr. H. Seebohm of a specimen from Toukiyau
in the Hakodate Museum, he considers it to be G. antigone. (Seebohm,
4 Ibis,' 1879, p. 28.)
It is singular that this Crane is not included in the * Fauna
Japonica.'
145. Rhynchcea bengalensis, L.
Painted Snipe. Jap. * Tama-shigi.'
vol. vm. ' 26
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202 BLAEISTON AND PBYEB: ON THE BIBDS OF JAPAN.
This Snipe is known to sportsmen in the south. It has been
found breeding on Fuji- sail. Example from Nagasaki has been com-
pared. Specimen from Yokohama in the Hakodate Museum ; also in
the Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1877, p. 146.)
146. Rallus indicus, Blyth.
Indian Water- Bail. Jap. 4 Euhina.*
Generally distributed throughout Japan, including Yezo. Some
breed about Yokohama. Specimens in the Toukiyau and Hakodate
Museums. When the 'Fauna Japonica' was published it was not
considered distinct* from the European species B. aquaticus, and was
included in Mr. H. Whiteley's list also under this name. (Swinhoe,
« Ibis,' 1874, p. 168.)
147. POBZANA EBYTHBOTHOBAX, T. & S.
Bed-breasted Bail. Jap. ' Hi-kuhina.'
This Bail is likewise generally distributed. Specimens in the
Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston, ' Ibis/ 1862, p. 881 :
Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1874, p. 168.)
148. Pobzana pygmea, Naum.
Baillon's Crake. Jap. ' Hime-kuhina.'
A specimen obtained in Yezo, now in the Hakodate Museum, is
referred to this European species. (Swinhoe, • Ibis,' 1876, p. 885.)
149. Pobzana exquisita, Swinh.
Button Crake. • Jap. ' Shima-kuhina.'
Specimens collected in Yezo in the Hakodate Museum. The late
Mr. B. Swinhoe, who described this bird, identified a specimen sent
him. (' Ibis,' 1876, p. 885.) The species is figured in the ' Ibis ' for
1875, Pt. HI.
150. Gallinula- chlobopus, L.
Moorhen. Jap. •Ban.'
Found both on the Main Island and Yezo. Specimens in the
Hakodate Museum compared with European examples. Also in the
Toukiyau Museums.
151. FULICA ATBA, L.
, Coot. Jap. * Oho -ban.'
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BLAKISTON AND PBYEB I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 203 •
Common on the rivers north of Toukiyau. Specimen shot at
Hakodate. Figured in the 'Fauna Japonica' as. F. atra japoniea.
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
■
152. Otis tarda, L.
Bustard. Jap. 'No-gan.'
A bird supposed to be a great Bustard was brought into the Hiyaugo
market quite fresh in December, 1876. It weighed 18} pounds. It
probably was of this species, which is found at Shanghai, Hankow, and
Peking in winter. The Japanese are acquainted with the bird, and their
ornithologists class it with the geese.
158. Phasianus vebsicolob, Vieill.
Green Pheasant. Jap. ( KizmY
General throughout Eiushiu, and the southern islands, tod as far
as the northern extremity of the Main Island, but does not inhabit
Yezo. It readily interbreeds with the Chinese P. torquatm, the hybrid
being a remarkably fine bird, surpassing in beauty either of its parents.
A female in male plumage was short by Mr. Dare in November, 1877.
Many others have since been obtained. Specimens in the Hakodate
and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1875, p. 452.) Eggs, 5 to
6, dark olive, very much depressed.
154. Phasianus scemmerringi, T.
Copper Pheasant. Jap. ' Yamadori.*
The range of this species is similar to the last, not crossing the
Strait of Tsugaru into Yezo. It frequents the plains and higher parts of
the mountains indifferently. The Japanese have succeeded in obtaining
in capitivity hybrids of this and the Green Pheasant. Of a pair which •
we have seen, the female is large, the male small but of very
gorgeous plumage. In both, the tail of the Green Pheasant was present,
and the hen, except for her size, had little to distinguish her from that
species. Eggs 5 to 6, about 2 inches long, and resemble a pullet's egg,
white, with a tinge of reddish.
155. Tbtrastbs bonasia, L.
Hazel Grouse.
Jap. ' Yezo rai-teu : Jap. in Yezo, ' Yamadori.'
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204 BLAKISTON AND PBYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
This wood-grouse — which is a European species — seems not to be
found south of the Strait of Tsugaru separating Yezo from the Main
Island.
156. Laoopus mutus, Gould.
Ptarmigan. Jap. ' Rai-teu.'
Some specimens of what appear to be this species in the collection
of the Yamashita Haku-butsu-kuwan are from Eaga ; it is also said to be
found in Ofitakesan, on the -borders of Shin-shiu.- We are very anxious
to obtain examples for proper comparison with the European bird, and
would draw the attention of travellers in mountainous parts of Japan
to the desirability of collecting. Lagopus Mutus was included in the
' Fauna Japonica ' on the authority of a Japanese drawing.
157. COTURNIX JAPONICA, T. & S.
Bed-throated Quail. Jap. ' Udzura.'
The quail is found more or less throughout Japan. It migrates
northward in spring and southward in autumn, being abundant in Yezo
during summer, where an occasional one is found during a mild winter.
It has been observed breeding in the vicinity of Yamanaka Lake,
Fuji- san, and about Toukiyau.
Ornithologists differ in opinion as to whether the Japan bird is
distinct from the common quail, Coturnix communis, Bonn, The late
Mr. R. Swinhoe considered the South China bird — without the red-.,
throat — as communis, while that obtained by him at Chefoo, which
he compared with Hakodate specimens, as japonica. (Swinhoe, * Ibis/
1875, p. 126 and 452.) Mr. F. Ringer collected specimens at Nagasaki
in January and December, which appear to agree with the South China
bird. Eggs 6, dirty white, patched with red-brown.
158. Columbu ltvia, Temm. (?)
Rock Pigeon. Jap. 'Kahara-bato.'
A blue rock pigeon which breeds in the famous cave of Bcfiten-
sama, on Yenoshima, may be of this or an allied species.
159. Turtur gelastes, Temm.
Eastern Turtle-Dove. Jap. ' Kizhi-bato.*
Remains all the year round on the plains, but is most abundant in
winter. In Yezo only in summer. It breeds in the neighbourhood of
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 205
Yokohama even as late as November, Mr. J. Dare having found a nest
with eggs oa the 4th November; and Mr. G. H. Olmsted one containing
folly fledged young on the 25th of the same month. (Whitely as
T. rupicola, ' Ibis/ 1867, p. 204 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1874, p. 162.)
160. TURTTJR RISORIUS, L.
Barbary Dove. Jap. • Shirako-bato.1
This species, which also inhabits North China, arrives about
Toukiyau in April, and is often brought alive to market in large numbers.
Light fawn-color varieties are found, which also occur in China. It
breeds very late, young birds being obtained in November. Not yet
procured in Yezo. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1876, p. 884 et 1877, p. 145.)
161. Treron seeboldi, Temm.
Siebold's Green Pigeon. Jap. 4 Awo-bato.'
This bird seems peculiar to Japan; it is figured in the 'Fauna
Japonica ' and received its name as a tribute to its discoverer. The
native hunters attract it within shot by imitating its long and varied
* coo.* In Yezo it is found only during summer, where its seems to
prefer moderately high wooded bluffs adjoining the sea-shore, on the sands
of which it frequently alights. It is a late breeding bird, two very young
ones having been obtained in the Yokohama game-market in December.
(Whitely, 'Ibis/ 1867, p. 204 : Swinhoe, 'Ibis ' 1875, p. 452.)
162. Carpophaga ianthina, T. & S.
Crow Pigeon. Jap. ' Karasu-bato."
Abundant on Sarushima, Toukiyau Bay. The ' coo ' is loud and
is accompanied by the bird spreading its tail and clashing its pinion
feathers together. Seen also in Shikoku.
168. Cuculus canorus, L.
Cuckoo. Jap. 'Kako.'
This is supposed to be identical with the European Cuckoo, its .
habits and note being the same, bat by some ornithologists it has been
called C canorinus, or the eastern form of the common Cuckoo. It is
common about Fuji-san, and inhabits Yezo in summer. It was
obtained at Hakodate by Commodore Perry!s expedition. (Blakiston,
'Ibis,' 1862, p. 825: Whitely, 'Ibis,1 1867, p. 195: Swinhoe,
•Ubis/ 1875, p. 451.)
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206 BLAKISTON AND PBYER I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums from various
localities.
164. Cuculub poliocephalus. Lath.
Cuckoo. Jap. • Ho-to-tp-gisu.'
This bird is a miniature of the preceding species, but is easily
separable, as the traverse bars on the breast are much broader and the
centre tail feather has seventeen alternate white spots, the first
six being nearly opposed and the last pair being confluent. There is
only a slight indication of spots on the tail of C. canorus. The male is
very much smaller, measuring only 6J inches from the shoulder to the
end of the pinion feathers against 8£ inches in canorus. The female is
large and measures 7} inches from the shoulder. The chin and throat are
grey, the breast and belly white, with broad traverse black bars ; under
tail coyerts plain, with a rufous tinge. Immature birds spotted. The
breast of the female is nearly black.
The note is very different from the Cuckoo, being the syllables
' ho-tuk-tuk ' constantly repeated as it flies from bush to bush. It is very
restless, seldom remaining in the same place for a minute.
This bird haB the unfortunate reputation of possessing wonderful
medicinal qualities, and is much hunted by the Japanese, a paste made
of the burnt feathers being used as a salve for cuts and wounds, and
the bird roasted whole or reduced to charcoal is eaten as a cure for
consumption, eye-disease and other disorders. This bird is mentioned
by Kampfer. He calls it a night bird, but has fortunately given a
drawing of it with the Japanese name in Chinese characters, and has
thus enabled us to identify it.
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
165. Cuculus hd£alayanus, Vigors.
Cuckoo. Jap. ' Tsu-tsu-dori.'
This bird exactly resembles C. poliocephalus, but is much larger, the
wing measuring 8 inches from the shoulder. It has the same number of
spots on the tail, but they are not so large. The bill is shorter and rather
more curved. Its note is very deep and can be heard for a long distance.
It resembles the syllables ' hoo-hoo ' twice in succession and then a
pause. Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums. *
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BLAKI8T0N AND PR7ER: ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 207
166. Heibococcyx fugax. Horsf.
Cuckoo. Jap. ' Zhifu-ichi.'
The back of the male is slaty black, inclining to rufous. It has a
white collar partially extending round the back of the neck, the tail is
barred like a hawk, and the breast is white, with scattered brown
feathers and with large longitudinal dark brown stripes. The female
is darker on the back ; the breast is a uniform reddish brown without
stripes. It measures 8 inches from the shoulder to the end of the
pinions.
It is not so common as the other Cuckoos, but fully makes up for
it by extra vociferousness and activity. The male is fond of perching
on the summit of a dead tree, spreading out its wings, elevating its tail
and repeating the word ' zhifu-ichi ' (Jap. for 11), at first slowly and
then gradually faster and faster, until it cannot articulate any longer.
It then tumbles off its perch and flits to another, and repeats the
performance.
The Japanese are superstitious concerning this bird, as it is seldom
seen near dwellings, and they believe that its visits to them portends
an earthquake, as its cry is thought to resemble the word 'ji-shiii'
Jajf. for c earthquake '), and it goes by the name of the • Ji-shin-teu,' i.e.
' Earthquake bird,1 in some parts of the country.
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
167. Picus major, L.
Spotted Woodpecker. Jap. 'Akagera.'
This is a European species. It inhabits the Main Island and Yezo,
and has been found breeding on Fuji-san. This is the most abundant
woodpecker. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
(Blakiston, 'Ibis/ 1862, p. 825: Whitely, 'Ibis,' 1867, p. 195:
Swinhoe, * Ibis,' 1875, p. 451.)
168. Picus minor, L.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
Specimens obtained as Satsuporo, in Yezo, by Mr. Fukushi, in the
Hakodate Museum, and one in the Kai-taku-shi Museum in Shiba,
Toukiyau.
Of a skin sent to Mr. H. Seebohm, that gentleman remarked that it
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208 BLAKISTON AND PBYEE: ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
was intermediate in color and form between P. minor of North Europe
and Asia, and the small dingy race of West and Southern Europe.
(Seebohm, 'Ibis/ 1879, p. 29.)
169. Picus leuconotus, Bechst.
White-rumped Woodpecker. Jap. ' Oho-akagera.'
This is also a European species, and inhabits Southern Japan as
well as Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
(Blakiston, ' Ibis/ 1862, p. 826 : Whitely as uralensis, ' Ibis/ 1867,
p. 195 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1875, p. 461.)
170. Pious kisuej, T. & S.
Woodpecker. Jap. ' Ko-gera.'
This species, which is supposed to be peculiar to Japan, was
discovered by Siebold. . It seems generally distributed throughout the
country, including Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
• Ibis/ 1862, p. 825 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 18751, p. 451.)
171. Dryocopus maetius, L.
Great Black Woodpecker. Jap. ' Kuma-gera.'
This is the European species. Is common in Yezo, but nbt
yet found South. Specimens in the Hakodate Museum. (Blakiston
'Ibis/ 1862, p. 825 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1875, p. 451.)
172. Gecinus canus, Gm.
Grey-headed Woodpecker. Jap. 'Yama-gera.'
Also a European species, which in Japan seems to be confined to
Yezo, itg place on the Main Island being taken by an essentially local
species, G. atvokera. Specimens in the Hakodate Museum. (Blakiston,
'Ibis/ 1862, p. 825: Whitely, 'Ibis/ 1867, 195: Swinhoe, 'Ibis/
1876, p. 451.)
178. Gecinxjs awokera, T. & S.
Japan Green Woodpecker. Jap. 'Awo-gera.*
Described and figured in the 'Fauna Japonica.' May be dis-
tinguished by its scarlet moustache. So far only found on the Main
Island, but probably inhabits the southern islands also.
Specimens from Yokohama in the Hakodate Museum ; also in the
Toukiyau Museum.
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BLAKISTON AND PBYERI ON THE BERDS OF JAPAN.
174. Yunx JAFONICA, £p.
Eastern Wryneck. Jap. 4 Arisu.'
Obtained in Yezo and at Nagasaki and Fuij-san. Specimens in the
Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.'
This bird also inhabits China. (Swinhoe, « Ibis/ 1874, p. 162.)
175. Alcedo benoalensis, Gm.
Kingfisher. Jap. ' Kaha-semi.'
In the East this kingfisher takes the place of that of Europe, and
to ordinary observers might be taken for it. It varies slightly in size
and color. Seems to be generally distributed throughout Japan,
including Nagasaki and Yezo, in which latter locality it is only, however,
a summer visitor. Eggs white and round ; nest in a hole in a bank.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston, 'Ibis,'
1862, p. 325 : Whitely, ' Ibis,' 1867, p. 196 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1874,
p. 152.)
176. Cebtle guttata, Vigors.
Kingfisher. Jap. ' Kahan-teu.1
This fine kingfisher was given in the ' Fauna Japonica ' as
C. lugvbris. It frequents mountain streams, generally in pairs, both on
the Main Island and Yezo ; is occasionally found on the latter island in
winter. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
< Ibis/ 1875, p. 449.)
177. Halcyon ooromanda, Bodd.
Kingfisher. Jap. ' Kiyau-roro.'
The brilliant plumage of this bird is sure to attract attention. It is
very vociferous in rainy weather, when its mournful cry ' kiyauroro,' can
be heard at a long distance. It is not uncommon on the Main Island,
and is found also during the summer season in Yezo. Specimens in the
Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm, ' Ibis/ 1879, p. 29.)
178. EUBTSTOMUS OBIENTALIS, L. (?)
Jap. ' Buposo.'
Until the present year we were inclined to regard the Japanese
Buposo as a mythical bird. It is well known by name, but reported to
be very rarely seen, and we thought it might be the Pitta mentioned in
the ' Fauna Japonica.' In May last the elder Mr. Ota procured a
vol. vni. 27
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210 BLAKISTON AND PRYER I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
specimen at Nagasaki, which is a Eurystomus and probably orientalis.
The younger Mr. Ota, on seeing this specimen, remembers haying found
a feather of this same bird on Eau-ya-san in Kii some years ago.
179. Upupa epops, L. (?)
Hoopoe. Jap. ' Yatsugashira/
This bird was included in the ' Fauna Japonica ' on the authority '
of a Japanese drawing. M. Maximovitch noted having seen it at
Hakodate in 1861. (Blakiston, 'Ibis,* 1862,* p. 827.) A specimen
obtained off the south-east coast of Yezo in the Hakodate Museum, is
referred to this species pending careful comparison.
180. Zosterops japonica, T. & S.
Jap. • Mejiro.'
Common in winter on the plains in the Main Island associating with
flocks of Tits. It is a favourite cage-bird with the natives. Obtained
also at Nagasaki and in Yezo. ,
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm,
'Ibis/ 1879, p. 29.)
181. Certhia familiaris, L.
Creeper. Jap. 'Kibashiri.'
Specimen from Hakodate was pronounced by the late Mr. R.
Swinhoe to be of the pale race of Amoorland ; those obtained in Yamato
seem smaller and darker. (Whitely, 'Ibis,' 1867, p. 196: Swinhoe,
' Ibis/ 1874, p. 152.) A specimen obtained' at Nitsukuau agrees with
the Yezo specimen.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
182. HlRUNDO OUTTURALIS, Scop.
Swallow. Jap. 'Tsubakuro.'
Ornithologists differ as to whether the common Swallow of China
and Japan is sufficiently distinct from the European H. rustica to rank
as a species or only sub-species. Its habits seem to be the same. It is
generally distributed throughout the Japan Islands in Bummer. Nest
always in a house, where a shelf is provided for its accommodation.
Eggs 5, long, white, spotted with red. (Swinhoe, * Ibis/ 1874, p. 151.)
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum, where is also one of H.
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BLAKI8T0N AND FRYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 211
americana obtained by Mr. N. Fukushi at Petropanlski in Kamschatka,
so it is quite possible the American bird may occasionally find its way
to the Kuril Islands, if not to the Main Islands of the Japan group.
188. Cecbopib erythropygia, Sykes.
Indian Red-rumped Swallow. Jap. ' Yama-tsubakuro.'
Mr. H. Seebohm considers japonic a and arctivitta as only synonyms
for this species. (' Ibis/ 1879, p. 80.)
It is common about Toakiyau, where it builds a long, bottle- shaped
nest under the eaves of buildings. Eggs six ; white. Not yet found
in Yezo. Specimen in the Hakodate Museum from Toukiyau ; specimens
also in the museums there.
This bird is common in Toukiyau, but has only just discovered
Yokohama, although there have long been many suitable places for it to
breed. The first nest was built late in 1878, and several this year
(1879).
184. Cotyle rd?aria, L.
Sand Martin. Jap. ' Tsuna-muguri-tsubame.'
So far, the only localities where this bird has been collected in
Japan are Hakodate and at Satsuporo in Yezo, at which latter place
Mr. N. Fukushi obtained a large series. It is probably to be found in
many other places.
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum. (Seebohm, 'Ibis,' 1879, p. 80.)
185. Ceeudon blakistoni, Swinhoe.
Black-chinned Martin. Jap. ' Iwa-maki-tsubame.'
This species was collected first at Hakodate, where it breeds in
numbers under overhanging cliffs and caves. It was described and named
by the late Mr. R. Swinhoe in the proceedings of the Zoological Society
of London, 1862, p. 820, and in the ' Ibis,' 1868, p. 90. It was figured
in the * Ibis/ 1874, Pt. YH. It has been since found in other parts of
Japan, — Fuji- sail, Nitsukuau and on the summit of Ominisanjo-san in
Yamato — being the common high mountain and cliff-martin of the country.
Specimens in Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis/
1874, p. 151.)
Eggs white ; nest outwardly of mud, lined with grass and feathers,
generally placed in a cranny of rock.
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
186. Cypselus pacificus, Lath.
White-rumped Swift. Jap. ' Nairi-tsubame.'
Found both on the Main Island and Yezo. Specimens in the
Hakodate Museum. Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1876, p. 881 : Seebohm, ' Ibis/
1879, p. 81.)
187. Chjetuba caudaouta, Lath.
Swift. Jap. ' Ama-tsubame/
This large heavy-bodied species is found in the Nitsukuau mountains.
It is common in Yezo in summer. Specimens in the Hakodate Museum.
Swinhoe, « Ibis/ 1875, p. 448.)
188. Capbimtjlgus jotaka, T. & S.
Goatsucker. Jap. ' Yotaka.'
This distinct species was figured in the ' Fauna Japonica/ where
it received a wrong native name owing to the Dutch pronunciation of the
letter ' j/ It has been collected from various localities, including Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely,
1 Ibis/ 1867, p. 195 : Swinhoe, « Ibis/ 1876, p. 881.)
Eggs 2, white, patched with grey, placed on the ground.
189. CORVUS JAPONENSIS, Bp.
Japan Crow. Jap. ' Hashibuto-garasu.'
This is the commonest bird of the Crow family in Japan. It is
intermediate in size between the Carrion Crow and the Raven, and may
always be distinguished by its very heavy bill. Wholly white and
brown varieties are occasionally found.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
•Ibis/ 1862, p. 825 : Whitely, * Ibis/ 1867, p. 200.)
Eggs five, green, with darker patches ; cannot be distinguished from
the next species. Both build a large nest of twigs in trees.
190. Corvus corone, L.
Carrion Crow. Jap. ' Hashiboso-garasu/
This is the Carrion Crow of Europe. It seems to be generally
distributed throughout Japan. Found breeding about Yokohama and
in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
« Ibis/ 1874, p. 159.)
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BLASISTON AMD PRYEK : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 213
191. CORVUS CORAX, L.
Raven. Jap. ' Watari-garasu.'
Specimens of this bird obtained at Eturup, the largest of the Kuril
Islands, are in the Kai-taku-shi Museum at Shiba, Toukiyau, and in the
Hakodate Museum, the latter shot by Mr. H. J. Snow. (Seebohm,
« Ibis/ 1879, p. 81.)
192. CORVUS PASTINATOR, Gould.
Eastern Rook. Jap. ' Miyama-garasu.'
As yet the European Rook has only been obtained about Toukiyau.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm, * Ibis,1
1879, p. 81.)
198. Corvub dauricus, Pall.
Jackdaw. Jap. ' Kokumaro-garasu.'
A live specimen was found in a bird shop at Asakusa, Toukiyau,
agreeing with one of the figures in the ' Fauna Japouica.'
194. Corvus negleotus, Swinhoe.
Jackdaw.
This was figured in the ' Fauna Japouica ' as the young of dauricus,
but the late Mr. R. Swinhoe described it as a distinct species in the
proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1868, p. 805.
195. Pica media, Blyth. (?)
Pied Magpie. . Jap. ' Hizen-karasu.'
A Magpie was included in the ' Fauna Japonica ' under the name of
P, varia-japonica, from a Japanese drawing. The Japanese say that
such a bird exists on the island of Kiushiu ; if so it probably is this
species, which inhabits China. There are specimens in the Hakodate
Museum of a magpie collected by Mr. N. Fukushi in Eamschatka, the
name of which remains undetermined.
196. Ctanopica ctanus, Pall.
Blue Magpie. Jap. * Onaga-dori.'
This bird is not uncommon on the Main Island even as far as the
northern extremity, but it has not been noticed in Yezo. Frequents
marshy places
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
'Ibis,' 1877, p. H5.)
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214 BLAKISTON AND PBYER1 ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
197. NUCIFRAGA CARYOCATACTES, L.
Nutcracker. Jap. ' Hoshi-garasu.'
A specimen taken to London in 1862 was indentified as the European
bird. It is common on Fuji- sari, and in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
4 Ibis/ 1862, p. 826.)
198. Garrulus brandti, Evesm.
Jay. Jap. ' Miyama-kakisu.'
This bird was discovered to be a resident in Yezo in 1862. It has
not been found on the Main Island, where its place is taken* by
G. japonicus. (Blakiston, 'Ibis/ 1862, p. 826: Whitely, 'Ibis/ 1867,
p. 200 and Pt. Ill: Swinhoe, 'Ibis,' 1875, p. 450.)
199. Garrulus japonicus, Bp.
Japan Jay. Jap. ' Kakisu.'
This Jay, which was given in the 'Fauna Japonica ' as Garrulus
glandarius japonicus, is one of the birds peculiar to Japan, and quite a
local species, not having yet been found north of the straits of Tsugaru
separating the Main Island from Yezo, where its place is taken by the
preceding species G. brandti, which ranges to North China and Siberia.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
« Ibis,' 1877, p. 144.)
200. Garrulus bidthi, Bp. (P. L. S. 1850, p. 80.)
Jay.
The existence of this species rests on the authority of an Italian
gentleman. (See letter by Mr. W. A. Forbes, « Ibis,' 1878, p. 491.)
Probably an imported specimen from ?
201. Sturnus cineraceus, T.
Greyish Starling. Jap. ' Muku-dori.'
Breeds in holes in the fir trees about Kawasaki and Toukiyau,
where it stays all the year round. Eggs pale blue. Is common in
Yezo during summer. (Whitely, 'Ibis,' 1867, p. 200: Swinhoe,
•Ibis/ 1874, p. 159.)
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum.
202. Sturnus sericeus, Gmel.
White-headed Starling. Jap. ' Chiyau-sen muku-dori.
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BLAKI9T0N AMD PRYER I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 215
One specimen obtained by Mr. Ota (taxidermist) of Toukiyau from
a bird-catcher, now in the Kiyou-iku Haku-butsu-kuwaii collection.
208. Stubnia pybbhogenys, T. & S.
Red-cheeked Starlet. Jap. * Shima-muku-dori.'
Generally distributed and migratory. Specimens in the Hakodate
and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston, 'Ibis/ 1862, p. 827: Whitely,
'Ibis,' 1867, p. 201 : Swinhoe, 'Ibis,1 1874, p. 159.)
204. IiANIUS BUCEPHALUS, T. & S.
Bull-headed Shrike. Jap. ' Modzu.'
Builds near Yokohama in March. Stays all the year round in the
plains. Eggs five or six, yellowish white, speckled with light brown ;
nest of dead grass and twigs, lined with finest grass. Obtained also at
Nagasaki and in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely,
'Ibis/ 1867, p. 200: Swinhoe, 'Ibis,' 1875, p. 450.)
205. L4NIUS SUPEBCILIOSUS, L.
Shrike. Jap. * Aka-modzu.'
This replaces L. bucephalus on the plains at the foot of Fuji-sail.
Obtained also in Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau
Museums. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,* 1875, p. 450.)
Nest large, made of dead grass ; eggs 5 to 6, white, with a shade
of brown ; spots large ; of a liver color.
206. IiANIUS ESOUBITOB, Vig. (?)
Sub-species, major, Pall.
Great Grey Shrike. Jap. ' Oho-modzu.'
A single specimen obtained at Hakodate, in the Museum there, is
referred to this species pending proper identification. (Seebohm, * Ibis,'
1879, p. 81.)
207. Ctanoptila otanohelana, T.
Flycatcher. Jap. 'Oruri.'
This was figured in the ' Fauna Japonica ' as two distinct species,
the male as Muscicapa melanolenca, and the female as Muscicapa gularis.
It is migratory and is found in Shikoku, Main Island, and Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely,
•Ibis/ 1867, p. 199.)
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216 BLAKISTON AND PRYER I ON THE BIRDS OP JAPAN. •
208. Butalis latirostris, Raffles.
Small Grey Flycatcher. Jap. ' Shima-modzu.'
This was included in the ' Fauna Japonica ' as Muscicapa cinereo-
dlba. It is common throughout Japan, including Yezo, in summer.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
'Ibis/ 1862, p. 817, as cinereo-alba : Whitely, ♦Ibis/ 1867, p. 199,
as cinereo-alba: Swinhoe, 'Ibis,' 1874, p. 159: Seebohm, 'Ibis,'
1879, p. 81.)
Note. — Butalis sibirica may exist in Japan, and there are some
specimens in collections which seem to differ sufficiently from latirostris.
209. Xanthoptoia narcissina, T.
Narcissus Flycatcher. Jap. ' Kibitaki.'
This species does not always migrate, as a specimen was obtained
north of Toukiyau in December. It is common in Yezo during summer.
The female was figured in the ' Fauna Japonica ' as M. hylocharis.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
« Ibis,' 1862, p. 818 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1874, p. 159.)
210. Muscicapa mugimaki, T. and S.
Flycatcher. Jap. ' Ko-tsubame.'
Figured in the ' Fauna Japonica/
211. Tchttrea princeps, T.
. Long-tailed Flycatcher. Jap. ' Sankochiyau.'
This, the most beautiful of the Flycatchers inhabiting Japan, is
very common on Fuji-san. It has not been found to reach Yezo in its
migrations. Eggs 5, long, white, spotted with red.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
212. Periorocotus cinereus, Lair.
Grey Minivet. Jap. 4 Raifuri ' — ' Sanshiyaukui.'
Common on Fuji-san and in Yamato. Not known in Yezo. Flight
and note resemble the grey Wagtail, for which it might easily be
mistaken owing to similarity of plumage.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm,
'Ibis,' 1879, p. 81.)
218. Ampelis garrula, L.
Bohemian Waxwing. Jap. 'Ki-renjaku.'
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BLAKISTON AND PBYER *. ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 217
This European species, which inhabits North China, is not un-
common in Yezo, but has not yet been found south of that locality in
Japan.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
'Ibis/ 1874, p. 158.)
214. Ampelis phcenicoptera, T.
Eastern Waxwing. Jap. ' Hi-ren-zhiyaku.'
This species, which is found in North China and Formosa, inhabits
both the Main Island and Yezo, but on the latter island is not as common
as the foregoing species.
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum. (Whitely, 'Ibis,1 1876, p. 200.)
Note. — Pitta nympha is given in the 'Fauna Japonica' from Korea.
Oriolus sp. — There are Japanese figures of Orioles which are said
to be found in Eiushiu, which, being the nearest portion of Japan to
China, is the most likely locality.
215. Pabus ater, L.
Cole Tit. Jap. « Hi-gara.'
Seems to be generally distributed on the Main Island and Yezo.
Flocks of this bird, Pants minor, Orestes Trivirgatus, Zosterops japonica
and Rugulus japonicus common in the winter on the plains. Specimens
in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston, * Ibis,' 1862, p.
821 : Whitely, ' Ibis,1 1867, p. 198 : Swinhoe, « Ibis,' 1874, p. 155 :
Seebohm, < Ibis,' 1879, p. 81.)
216. Pabus palustris, L.
Marsh Tit. Jap. * Ko-gara.'
Was in former published lists given as P. kamschatkensis and
P. boreaUst but Mr. H. Seebohm, who has examined examples from ail
across the continents of Europe and Asia, comes to the conclusion that
those names must only stand as sub-species. Common on the moun-
tains of Nitsu-kuwau, Fuji-san and Ohoyama.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
'Ibis/ 1862, p. 821 : Whitely, ' Ibis,' 1866, p. 198 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis,'
1874, p. 156 : Seebohm, ' Ibis,' 1879, p. 82.)
217. Pabus minob, T. & S.
Lesser- Tit. Jap. ' Shi-zhifu-kara.
▼ol. Tm. 28
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216 BLAKISTON AND PRYER: ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
Breeds high up Ohoyama and in Toukiyau. Seen commonly on the
plains near Toukiyau in winter. Common in Yezo and on the Main Island.
* Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely,
1 Ibis/ 1867, p. 198 : Swinhoe, « Ibis/ 1874, p. 156 : Seebohm, « Ibis,'
1879, p. 88.)
Eggs white, spotted with red ; nest built in a hole of a tree or rock.
218. Parus varius, T. & S.
Japan Tit. ' Yama-gara.'
Keeps jn the mountains both summer and winter in the south. Is
not uncommon io Yezo during summer. A favourite cage-bird with the
Japanese. So far not found out of Japan.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,'
• Ibis/ 1862, p. 821 : Swinhoe, « Ibis/ 1874, p. 155.)
219. Acrbdula triviroata, Temm.
Japan Long-tailed Tit. Jap. « Wo-naga.'
This seems to be essentially a South Japan bird, — that is to say, not
ranging beyond the Strait of Tsugaru separating Yezo from the main
island. It breeds on Fuji-san and visits the lower country around
Toukiyau and Yokohama in winter.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. . (Blakiston
and Pryer, ' Ibis/ 1878, p. 285.)
220. ACREDUIiA CAUDATA, L.
Long-Tailed Tit. Jap. .' Shima- wo-naga.*
This is the European species, which in Japan has not been yet
found south of Yezo, where it is most abundant in winter.
Specimens in* the Hakodate Museum. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1874, p.
156.)
221. 2Egithalu& gonsobrinus, Swinhoe.
This bird was described by the late Mr. B. Swinhoe from China as
a new species, but Mr. H. Seebohm is inclined to consider it only a sub-
species of A. pendulensis of Europe. The only specimens known in Japan
are in the Hakodate Museum, collected by Mr. F. Ringer at Nagasaki in
February. (Seebohm, ' Ibis/ 1879, p. 88.)
222. SlTTA EUBOPEA, L.
Nuthatch. Jap. ' Ki-mahari.'
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BLAKISTON AND PRYERI ON THE BIBDB OF JAPAN. 219
Specimens collected in Yezo have been sent to Europe for com-
parison, which although misnamed S. roseilia and S. uralensis are really
only the European bird. (Blakiston, 'Ibis/ 1862, p. 822: Swinhoe
' Ibis,' 1868, p. 99 : Whitely, « Ibis/ 1867, p. 196 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis/
1874, p. 152: Seebohm, 'Ibis/ 1879, p. 84.)
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
The southern form of this bird is much more rufous on the * belly
than northern specimens ; it varies considerably in this respect, some
specimens being almost entirely rufous and others from the same locality
showing very tittle colouring. Northern specimens rarely have a trace
of this colour.
3. Accentor rtjbidus, T. & S.
Accentor. Jap. ' Kaya-kuguri.'
Given in the ' Fauna Japonica ' under the name of Accentor
nodularis rubidus. Several obtained at Nitsu-kuwau, Ohoyama and
Fuji-san in winter, and also by Mr. H. Whitely at Hakodate.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely,
•Ibis/ 1867, p, 198.)
224. Accentor ertthropygius, Swinh. (?) *
Accentor. Jap. ' Iha-hibari.'
A live specimen obtained by Mr. Ota, something resembling A.
alpinus, is attributed to this species, which is found in North China and
Eastern Siberia. Found high up Fuji-san.
5. Anthus maculattjs, Hodg.
Tree-Pifit. Jap. ' Bindzui.'
This Pipit breeds commonly on Fuji-san ; eggs five, whity-brown,
patched with red-brown. Very abundant on the plains in pine planta-
tions in winter. Also found in Yezo.
The late Mr. R. Swinhoe identified a specimen sent him as Pipastes
agiUs, Sykes, which Mr. H. Seebohm says is only a synonym of the
European bird Anthus trivialis, L.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm,
' Ibis/ 1879, p. 84.)
Nest generally placed on the ground, made of grass, lined with
fine grass, or the fruit stalks of moss.
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220 BLAKISTON AND PRYER I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
226. Anthus japonicus, T. & S.
Japan Pipit. Jap. ' Ta-hibari.'
In winter commonly about Yokohama. Specimens from several
localities in Yezo. Mr. H. Seebohm considers this species the same as
A. ludovicianus, Gm.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely,
« Ibis/ 1867, p. 198 : Swinhoe, « Ibis/ 1875, p. 449.)
227. Anthus cebvinus, Pall.
Pipit.
Obtained on the Kuril Islands by Mr. N. Fukushi. Specimen in
the Hakodate Museum. (Seebohm, ' Ibis ' 1879, p. 84.)
228. Anthus, Sp. inc.
Pipit.
One specimen of another species collected by Mr. N. Fukushi at
Satsuporo in Yezo, is in the Hakodate Museum.
229. MotaoHjLa japonica, Swinh.
Japan Pied Wagtail. Jap. ' Seguro-sekireii'
Mr. H. Seebohm considers that this bird may be divided into two
species. M. lugens and M. amurensis.
There are specimens from Toukiyau, Nagasaki, Yezo and
Eamschatka in the Hakodate Museum, also in the Toukiyau Museums.
(Blakiston, 'Ibis/ 1862, p. 819, as lugens: Whitely, 'Ibis/ 1867, p.
198, as lugens: Swinhoe, 'Ibis,' 1874, p. 156, as japonica.)
280. MOTACILLA BOABULA, L.
Grey Wagtail. Jap. ' Ki-sekirei.'
This is the same as M. melanope of Pallas. It breeds on
Fuji-san and in Toukiyau in the thatch of houses. Eggs dirty white,
spotted with greyish brown. It inhabits the neighbourhood of Nagasaki,
and also Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
(Blakiston, 'Ibis/ 1862, p. 818: Swinhoe, 'Ibis/ 1874, p. 157.)
281. Calamohebpe obientalis, T. & S.
Eastern Reed-Thrush. Jap. 'Oho-yoshi.'
The largest of the Reed-warblers, seems generally distributed
wherever there are reed beds throughout Japan, including Yezo, during
summer. Male very vociferous, singing during moonlight.
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BLAKISTON AND PBYEB t ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN, 221
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
•Ibis.' 1862, p. 817 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1874, p. 158.)
282. Acrocephalus* bistbhhcepb, Swinhoe.
Black-Eyebrowed Reed- wren. Jap. ' Ko-yoshi.'
This is the same as Calamodyta maacki, Schrench. In habits and
song it is a miniature of the preceding species, but frequents the Kaya
instead of reeds. Inhabits the Main Island and Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
' Ibis,1 1874, p. 154, as C. maacki: Seebohm, * Ibis,' 1879, p. 85.)
288. Cettia oantans, T. & S.
Japan Nightingale. Jap. * Uguhisu.'
This bird is well known to all Japanese, and is a common cage-bird
with them, being valued for its song, which is not extensive, but the
few notes are sweet. Commences to sing about Toukiyau the last week
in February. Is resident throughout the year in Southern Japan, but
summers only in Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau
Museums. (Whitely, ' Ibis/ 1867, p. 197.)
Mr. H. Seebohm is of opinion that H. cantons and H. cantillans
are but one species, the smaller examples being usually females. This
opinion is deferred to, and consequently Salicaria cantillans of the
' Fauna Japonica ' included in former published lists (Blakiston, ' Ibis,'
1862, p. 818, and Whitely, « Ibis,' 1867, p. 197) is here omitted.
284. Ubosphena squamiceps, Swinhoe.
Scaly-headed Grass-Wren.
Several specimens at Fuji-san in summer. Specimens in the
Hakodate Museum, collected in Yezo. (Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1874, p. 155,
et 1877, p. 205, pt. IV.)
285. Cistioola cuBSiTANS, Frank. •
Fan-tail Warbler. Jap. ' Senniu'.
Mr. H. Seebohm has named a specimen sent him as above, which he
remarks is a prior name to C schcejdcola, Bonap., and we presume that
ft bnmneiceps, figured in the ' Fauna Japonica/ must also be referred to
this species.
Specimen in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums from Toukiyau,
(Seebohm, « Ibis', 1879, p. 87.)
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
Builds a deep, frail nest by weaving together the leaves of the Kaya
with the down from the flower of the same plant. A bird observed
building in October. Remains about Yokohama all the year round.
286. Cisticola, (?) sp.
This bird is common in the marshes about Yokohama and Toukiyau,
creeping about the reeds and aquatic thickets, but is difficult to catch.
It is larger than the preceding species, but otherwise resembles it, ex-
cepting that it has no black on the underside of the tail. Length, 5^ in.;
wing, 2£. Song resembles that of the grasshopper warbler.
287. Locustella fasciolata, Gray.
Moluccan Smoky Reed-Thrush.
This Mr. H. Seebohm says is- the true name for Calamodyta
insida7is of Wallace, and CdUunoherpe fumigata of Swinhoe.
Specimens only yet obtained in Yezo in the. Hakodate Museum.
(Swinhoe, « Ibis,' 1876, p. 882 : Seebohm, < Ibis,' 1879, p. 85.)
288. Locustella oghotensis, Midd.
Reed- Wren. Jap. ' Shima-Bennm.'
The late Mr. R. Swinhoe identified a specimen from Hakodate as
Locustella subcerthiola (Ibis,1 1874, p. 158) which he had previously
considered to be L. ochotensis. ('Ibis,1 1868, p. 98.) He also described
Arwidesiax blakistoni in the ' Ibis,' for 1876, p. 882, fig. 1, pt. VIII., as
a distinct species. Mr. H. Seebohm, however, is of opinion that the
former is the adult, and the latter the young of one species.
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum.
289 Locustella lanceolata, Temm.
Diminutive Grass- Wren.
. The late Mr. R. Swinhoe identified this from a specimen sent from
Hakodate. ('Ibis,' 1875, p. 449.) He also was convinced that L.
hendersonii (Cassin, Proc. Phil. Ac. S., 1858, p. 86) was identical with
this species, which opinion is shared by Mr. H. Seebohm. (' Ibis,1
1879, p. 86.)
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum from Yezo.
240. Locustella, ?
Specimens from Eturup.
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BLAKISTON AND PRYERI ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 228
241. Phylloscopus coronatus, T. & S.
Willow- Wren. Jap. ' Meboso.'
The most common of this genus, both on the Main Island and Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Tookiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
' Ibis/ 1862, p. 817 : Whitely, « Ibis/ 1867, p. 197.)
242. Phylloscopus xanthodbyas, Swinhoe.
Willow- Wren. .
Specimens obtained on Fuji-sail, and in Yezo. One sent to Mr. H.
Seebohm for identification. Resembles the preceding, but is larger and
greener ; the song is different, being very soft and sibilant. Observed
breeding high up Fuji-san in July.
Specimen in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
248. Phylloscopus borealis, Blasius.
Willow-Wren.
The late Mr. R. Swinhoe said he had seen a specimen in the
Leyden Museum from Nagasaki ('Ibis/ 1867, p, 888), and Mr. H.
Seebohm mentions skins in the collections of Lord Tweeddale and Mr.
Dresser from Japan. (' Ibis/ 1879, p. 86.)
244. Phylloscopus tenbllipes, Swinhoe.
Willow- Wren.
Mr. H. Seebohm mentions a specimen labelled " Hakodate, 5 May,
1665 " as being in Lord Tweeddale's collection. (J Ibis/ 1879, p. 86.)
This specimen would probably have been collected by Mr. H. Whitely, but
the species was not included in his list published in the ' Ibis ' for 1867.
245. Troglodytes pumigatus, Temm.
Japan Wren. Jap. ' Misosazahi/
Seems to be generally distributed throughout Japan, including Yezo.
Southern examples are generally darker and smaller than Northern.
Mr. H. Seebohm considers the Japan Wren as intermediate between
those of Cashmere and Nepal, and the Canadian species. (' Ibis/ 1879,
p. 87.)
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
•Ibis/ 1874, p. 152.)
5. Regulus japonicus, Bp.
Japan Regulus. Jap. 'Kiku-itadaki.'
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224 BLAKISTON AND PRTEE! ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
Specimens obtained on the Main Island, Kiushiu and Yezo, in the
Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston, ' Ibis/ 1862, p. 320 :
Whitely, « Ibis, 1867, p. 196 : Seebohm, ' Ibis/ 1879, p. 87.)
Very common on the plains about Yokohama in winter.
247. ClNCLUS PALLASI, T.
Pallas's Dipper. Jap. ' Kaha-garasu.'
Common on mountain streams both on the Main Island and
Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
'Ibis/ 1875, p. 449.) #
248. Ertthacus akahige, T. & S.
Robin. Jap. 'Komadori.'
Breeds on high mountains on the Main Island. Is a favourite
cage-bird with the natives. Siebold in the ' Fauna Japonica ' reversed
the native names of this and the following species. M. Maximovitch
mentioned having obtained a specimen of this bird at Hakodate.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums . (Blakiston and
Pryer, • Ibis,' 1878, p. 289.)
249. Ertthacus kohadori* T. & S.
Robin. Jap. 'Aka-higi.'
This species rests on the authority of the ' Fauna Japonica,' but
native ornithologists say that it is not a resident in Japan, those
occasionally seen in cages being obtained from Korea, which is borne out
by the fact of its being the most expensive live bird sold by the
dealers.
250. Larvtvora cyane, Pall.
Blue and White Robin. Jap. * Ko-ruri.'
Breeds on Fuji-sail, but is not common. A single specimen
obtained at Hakodate is in the Museum these. (Blakiston and Pryer,
'Ibis,' 1878, p. 289.)
Is very shy and wary.
251. Ianthia oyanura, Pall.
Robin Bluetail. Jap. ' Ruribitake.'
In winter only about Yokohama ; in summer high up Fuji-sail and
in Yezo. Also found at Nagasaki.
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BLAKISTON AND PRYEE: ON THE BIBDS OF JAPAN.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
'Ibis/ 1862, p. 818 :# Whitely, 'Ibis,' 1867, p. 197.)
252. Calliope camtschatkensis, Gm.
Robin Rubythroat. Jap. * Nogoma.'
Several specimens in Yezo and the Kuril Islands in the Hakodate
Museum. (Blakiston and Pryer, ' Ibis,1 1878, p. 239.)
253. Ruticilla aurobea, Pall.
Redstart. Jap. * Zhiyau-bitaki.'
Numbers winter on Ohoshima (Yries Island). Found also at
Nagasaki and in Yezo during the summer season, and occasionally in
winter.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
' Ibis,' 1862, p. 818 : Swinhoe, « Ibis/ 1875, p. 449.)
Common about Yokohama in the autumn, but not abundant in
winter.
254. Pratincola indioa, Blyth.
Indian Stonechat. Jap. * Nobitaki.'
Closely allied to the European species rubicola. Breeds on Fuji-
san about Yamanaka Lake. Found at Nagasaki ; very plentiful during
summer in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
4 Ibis,' 1862, p. 318 : Whitely, ' Ibis/ 1867, p. 197 : Swinhoe, • Ibis/
1874, p. 155.)
255. Pitta, Sp. inc. (?)
Ground Thrush.
Pitta nympha of the * Fauna Japonica ' was based on a drawing
taken by a Japanese artist at Nagasaki from a bird said to have been
brought from Korea. The late Mr. R. Swinhoe found such a bird in a
cage at Chefoo. (' Ibis,' 1874, p. 446.)
256. Monticola solitabia, Mull.
Blue and Red Rock-Thrush. Jap. * Iso hiyo-dori.'
Found about rocks on the coasts. Very abundant on Hatsu shima,
Idzu. Occasionally seen about the roofs of houses in the settlement
of Yokohama in winters. Common during summers in Yezo. Obtained
also at Nagasaki.
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226 BLAKISTON AND PBYEB : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
'Ibis,' 1862, p. 819: Whitely, « Ibis,' 1867, p. i99 : Swinhoe, * Ibis/
1874, p. 157.)
Very common on the Bonin Islands.
257. Hypsipetes amaurotis, T. & S.
Brown-Eared Bulbul : Local ' Screecher.' Jap. ' Hiyo-dori.'
This bird, familiarly known by foreign residents as the ' Screecher,'
seems generally distributed throughout Japan, being found at Nagasaki,
the island of Shikoku, the country around Yokohama, Yamato, etc.,
and in Yezo, where an occasional one has been observed even in
winters. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blak-
iston, « Ibis/ 1872, p. 820 : Whitely, ' Ibis,7 1867, p. 199 : ' Swinhoe,
'Ibis/ 1874, p. 158.)
Nest placed in a bush made of twigs, moss and roots, and lined
with finer roots ; eggs 5, pinkish white, spotted with liver-red.
258. Tubdus sebericus, Pall.
Siberian Thrush. Jap. * Mame-zhiro.'
This bird was figured only in its immature plumage in the ' Fauna
Japonica,' and was obtained only in that state at Hakodate in 1861.
Adult birds have now been collected at Fuji-sail, and one sent to Mr. H.
Seebohm for comparison. A beautiful songster.
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum. (Blakiston, 'Ibis/ 1868,
p. 98 : Seebohm, ' Ibis,' 1875, p. 87.)
259. Tubdus pallidus, Gmel.
Pale Thrush. Jap. ' Shiropara.'
This thrush was given in the ' Fauna Japonica ' as Turdus daulias,
and Mr. H. Whitely, following this example, gave the same name to a
specimen obtained by him at Hakodate. (' Ibis,' 1867, p. 199.)
Specimens have since been obtained on the Main Island and at
Nagasaki. (Blakiston and Pryer, 'Ibis,1 1878, p. 240: Seebohm,
•Ibis/ 1879, p. 87.)
Not uncommon in bamboo thickets in winter about Yokohama.
260. Tubdus cabdis, T.
Thrush. Jap. * Kuro-tsugu ' and * Ko-ke.'
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 227
Valued by the Japanese as a cage-bird for its fine song. Breeds
commonly on Fuji-san. Nest almost wholly of moss, and often on a
stump or against the side of a tree. Eggs five, of a greenish or reddish
white, patched all over with amber-brown. Found also at Nagasaki
and in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
' Ibis/ 1862, p. 819 : Whitely, « Ibis,' 1867, p. 199.)
261. TUBDUS NAUMANNI, T.
Bed-tailed Fieldfare. Jap. ' Akazhinai.'
This Thrush does not seem to be abundant. Mr. Ota has obtained
it from Fuji-saii, and specimens in the Hakodate Museum, collected
in the neighbourhood, have been compared with China examples.
(Blakiston and Pryer, « Ibis,' 1878, p. 241.)
This species was formerly confounded with T. fuscatus. (See
Editor's note, * Ibis,' 1862, p. 819.)
262. Turdus obbcurus, Gmel.
Eyebrowed Pale Thrush.
This was figured and described in the ' Fauna Japonica ' as T.
pattens, and is a common species in China and Siberia. The Museums
in Japan are without examples.
268. TUBDUS CHBYSOLAUS, T.
Thrush. Jap. ' Akapara.'
This Thrush varies much in the darkness of the throat. Specimens
from Nagasaki, Yokohama, and Yezo, in the Hakodate Museum, have
been compared with China examples. Also in the Toukiyau Museums.
(Whitely, « Ibis,' 1867, p. 199 : Blakiston and Pryer, ' Ibis,' 1878> p.
241.)
Breeds on Fuji-san ; sweet songster ; seen in the plains about
Yokohama in winter, generally solitary. Nest placed in bushes made
of grass, moss and twigs ; eggs 5, light bluish-green, speckled all over
with small spots of reddish-brown.
264. Turdus fuscatus, Pall.
Eastern Fieldfare or Brown Thrush. Jap. ' Chiyauma.'
The most common species of Thrush in Japan. Very abundant in
winter about Toukiyau and Yokohama, and some found in winter in
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228 BLAKISTON AND PEYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
Yezo. Also obtained at Nagasaki. Specimens in the Hakodate and
Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston, l Ibis,' 1862, p. 819 : Swinhoe,
* Ibis,' 1874, p. 157.) We do not know where this breeds.
265. Oreocincla varia, Pall.
White's Thrush. Jap. « Nuyejinai.'
One of the few, if not the only Thrush ranging from the Atlantic
to the Pacific across the continent of Europe and Asia. It is exposed
for sale in considerable numbers in the Yokohama market in winter.
Obtained also at Nagasaki and in Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate
and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe, l Ibis/ 1877, p. 144.)
Obtained at Fuji-san in July, where it was most probably breeding.
It has no song, only a soft plaintive whistle consisting of the syllable
' see,' which can be heard for a long distance ; very shy, but can easily
be attracted by imitating its whistle.
266. Alauda japonica, T. & S.
Japan Lark. Jap. ' Hibari.'
Notwithstanding Northern China is so prolific in species of larks,
this is the only one yet identified as belonging to the Japan Islands.
There is some variation in size, but all the examples sent to the late
Mr. R. Swinhoe were pronounced to be of the one species, and that
species not known as an inhabitant of the neighboring continent of
Asia. It will, however, possibly turn out that other species are to be
found in Japan, because the probability is, that at any rate stragglers
are blown over from Korea. The species under this heading is common
throughout the country, including Yezo, and has been found breeding
on Fuji-san. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
(Blakiston, 'Ibis/ 1862, p. 827: Whitely, 'Ibis,1 1867, p. 208:
Swinhoe, * Ibis/ 1874, p. 161, et 1877, p. 145.)
Nest placed in the grass; eggs 5, thickly speckled with dark brown.
367. Otocorys alpestris, L.
Shore Lark.
Although inhabiting America as will as Europe, and being common
in Mongolia, this bird is only entitled to a place in this catalogue from
being included in the ' Fauna Japonica ' on the authority of a Japanese
drawing.
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
268. Emberiza ciopsis, Bp.
Japan Meadow-Bunting. Jap. ' Hoho-zhiro.'
This is the most abundant Bunting on the Main Island, and one
of the few birds which remain on the plains to breed. It seems equally
common in Yezo, and is found also at Nagasaki. Piebald and other
varieties are not uncommon. It is the E. cioides of the 'Fauna
Japonica.'
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston
1 Ibis/ 1862, p. 828 : Whitely, « Ibis,' 1867, p. 202 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis,'
1874, p. 161 : Seebohm, ' Ibis,1 1879, p. 88.)
Nest made of dry grass, lined with fine rootlets, placed on or near
the ground ; eggs 5, whitish to brownish- white, and scrawled over with
black ; very variable.
269. Emberiza pucata, Pall.
Painted Bunting. Jap. * Hoho-aka.'
Breeds on Fuji-san. Common in winter around Yokohama.
Tolerably abundant in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
' Ibis/ 1862, p. 828 : Whitely, « Ibis/ 1867, p. 202 : Swinhoe, « Ibis/
1874, p. 181.)
270. Emberiza elegans, T.
Bunting. Jap. « Miyama-hoho-zhiro.'
This is not a common bird, but the most beautiful of the Japan
Buntings. It is said to be obtained at Nitsu-kuwau, and also in the
neighbourhood of Nagasaki.
Specimen in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
•Ibis/ 1877, p. 146.)
271. Emberiza rustioa, Pall.
Rustic Bunting. Jap. ' Kashira-daka.'
This bunting is very common in the Southern part of the Main
Island in winters, and in Yezo in summers. It ranges across Siberia to
North-east Europe, and an occasional straggler has been taken in England.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
' Ibis/ 1862, p. 828 : Whitely, < Ibis/ 1867, p. 202 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis/
1874, p. 161.)
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230 ' BLAXISTON AND PRYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
272. Emberiza pebsonata, Pall.
Masked Bunting. Jap. * AwozlnV
A very common bird all the year round about Toukiyau. Breeds
on Fuji-san ; nest generally placed on the ground, made of dead grass.
Eggs five, whitish, with brown patches and darker spots. Common in
Yezo, where it seems the earliest in spring and latest in autumn of all
the Buntings, some few remaining during winter.
Specimens ' in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
•Ibis,' 1874, p. 161.)
278. Emberiza aureola, Pall.
Bunting. Jap. ' Shima-awozhi.'
A specimen obtained by Mr. N. Fukushi in Yezo, and one procured
at a bird shop in Toukiyau, are in the Hakodate Museum. (Blakiston
and Pryer, ' Ibis,1 1878, p. 248.) '
274. Emberiza variabilis, T. & S.
Bunting. Jap. 'Kurozhi.'
Rather common on Ohoyama in winter. Also obtained in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
•Ibis/ 1875, p. 460.)
275. Emberiza sulphurata, T. & S.
Bunting. Jap. 'Nojiko.'
Seems to be a southern bird, being common on Fuji-san in June
and July, few being found in Yezo. It is a cage-bird with the natives.
This bird migrates in winter.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely,
•Ibis,' 1867, p. 208: Blakiston and Pryer, 'Ibis/ 1878, p. 243.
276. Emberiza rutila, Pall.
Ruddy Bunting. Jap. ' Shima-nojiko.'
Figured in the ' Fauna Japonica.'
277. Emberiza yessoensis, Swinh.
Yezo Bunting. Jap. ' Nabikaburi.'
This Reed-Bunting is found in grass swamps in Yezo during
summer. It has also been obtained at Fuji- sail in July. Specimens in
the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. When first discovered, in 1861,
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BLAKISTON AND FRYER: ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 281
it was taken to be E. minor, Midd. (Blakiston, 'Ibis,' 1868, p. 99.)
The late Mr. R. SwiDhoe, however, described it as seen later (' Ibis,'
1874, p. 161), and it has since been figured in the ' Ibis,' 1879, pt. I.,
and Mr. H. Seebohm has appended some remarks. ('Ibis,' 1879, p.
89.)
278. Emberiza schoeniclus, Linn.
Reed Bunting Jap. • Oho-jorin.'
Common in the Yokohama game-market in winters. Found in Yezo
in summer. The late Mr. R. Swinhoe described a specimen sent him
from Yezo as a new species under the name of Schoenicola pyrrhulina,
and it was figured in the ' Ibis ' (' Ibis,1 1876, p. 888, pt. VIII.), but Mr.
H. Seebohm considers E. palustris of Savi, and 8. pyrrhulina, as only
forms of the Reed Bunting, of Europe E. schoenicola, differing solely
from that type in having thicker bills, and not entitled to rank above
sub-species. (Seebohm, ' Ibis,' 1879, p. 40.)
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. Thousands
congregate in the reed beds, together with the foregoing, in winter,
eating the seeds.
279. Plectrophanes nivalis, L.
Snow Bunting. Jap. ' Uki-hozhiro.'
A specimen is in the Hakodate Museum, obtained in the neighbour-
hood.
280. Fringilla montifringilla, L.
Brambling. Jap. ' Atori.'
Large flocks are found in winter near Yokohama and Toukiyau and
it is not uncommon in Yezo. It is the same as the European species.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely,
•Ibis/ 1867, p. 201 : Swinhoe, 'Ibis/ 1874, p. 160.)
281. Passer montanus, L.
Tree-Sparrow. Jap. ' Suzume.'
This is the common house-sparrow of Japan. Eggs very variable.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
•Ibis,' 1862, p. 827: Whitely, ' Ibis,' 1867, p. 202 : Swinhoe, •Ibis,'
1877, p. 146.)
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
282. Passer rutilans, Temm.
Basset Sparrow. Jap. ' Niunai-suzume.)
This may be called the wild sparrow of Japan, being generally found
in uncultivated districts. It doubtless migrates. It is occasionally
brought into the Yokohama market from Eoshiu.
It is not uncommon in Yezo. This species is well figured in the
' Fauna Japonica ' under the name of P. russatus.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
'Ibis/ 1862, p. 828: Swinhoe, 'Ibis,* 1877, p. 145.)
Chlorospiza kawarahiba, T. & S.
Japan Goldenwing. Jap. ' Kahara-hiha.'
This bird is figured in the 'Fauna Japonica.* Yezo specimens
identified by the late Mr. B. Swinhoe. Whitely, 'Ibis,' 1867, p. 202 :
Swinhoe, ' Ibis,1 1874, p. 160.)
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. Breeds on
Fuji-saii, where it has been obtained in summer.
Procured singly or in pairs. Beak, flesh colour in summer.
Much larger and less brightly colored than the following species.
The figure given in the ' Fauna Japonica ' is very good.
284. Chlorospiza sinica, L.
China Goldenwing.
This is the Fringilla kaxcarahiha-minor of the ' Fauna Japonica.'
It is found in China, while the former species is not, that is to say,
unless they have been confounded. Mr. H. Whitely included this in
his Hakodate lists, and considered it the most common of the two
species. ('Ibis/ 1667 p. 202.) We have examined specimens from
Yokohama, Toukiyau, Fuji-saii, Ohoyama and Nagasaki.
The measurements given in the ' Fauna Japonica ' converted into
English inches are —
Kawarahiba,— 6.02x8.65.
Kawarahiba-minor=sinicaf — 5.20x3.20.
Mr. H. Whitely's are respectively 5.75x8.50 and 5.12x8.25.
Very gregarious, keeping together in flocks of a hundred or more.
285. Chrysomitris spinus, L.
Siskin. Jap. 'Ma-hiha.'
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
This bird, extending in range across the whole continent of Europe
and Asia, is common in Japan, including Yezo. It is caught in large
numbers by the natives for caging.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston,
' Ibis,1 1862, p. 827 : Whitely, ' Ibis/ 1867, p. 201.)
286. Linota linaria, Linn.
Mealy Redpoll. Jap. 'Beni-hiha.'
Specimens from Yezo were indentined by the late Mr. R. Swinhoe'
as 2Egiothus borealut,' Temm. ('Ibis/ 1874, p. 160), and it is
generally admitted that this bird is an inhabitant of North China and
Japan.
287. Linota rufescens, Viell. (?)
Lesser Redpoll. Jap. * Ko-beni-hiha.'
In the Hakodate Museum are specimens collected in Yezo of this or
the preceding species, or both. The late Mr. R. Swinhoe considered
that one of the specimens sent him was this species, which he called
JEgiothua linaria, L., and his note says :— " This species is easily
distinguished from the last by its smaller size, by having less white
on the rump, and scarcely any edging to its tail feathers. The
Hakodate skin agrees with home-shot specimens." (' Ibis,1 1874, p.
160.) On the other hand Professor Alfred Newton, in the number of
his new edition of " YarrelTs British Birds," published November, 1876,
considers this species to be confined to Western Europe. There is
another form, JEgiotJuis exilipes, of Dr. Cowes, smaller than the Mealy
Redpoll, which one of the Japan birds — if there are really two — may
turn out to be.
288. Leucostictb brunneinucha, Brandt.
Ground Finch. Jap. * Hagi-mashiko.1
This bird is common in flocks about Hakodate in winter, and has
been found there as late as May. Mr. N. Fukushi obtained it on the
Kuril Islands in July.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely,
« Ibis,' 1867, p. 202 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1875, p. 460.)
Uragus sanguinolentits, Temm.
Long-tailed Rose Finch. Jap. 4 Beni-mashiko.'
vol. vni. 30
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234 BLAEISTON AND FRYER: ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
A common bird in Yezo and at Nitsu-kuwau and Fuji-sail. Specimens
in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston, 'Ibis,' 1862,
p. 828: Whitely, 'Ibis/ 1867, p. 208: Swinhoe, 'Ibis,' 1874,
p. 160.)
290. Carpodacus roseus, Pall.
Rose Finch. Jap. ' Oho-mashiko.'
Specimens shot in Yezo; others purchased from bird shops in
Toukiyau. The late Mr. R. Swinhoe, to whom one was sent, pronounced
it to be of this species. (' Ibis,' 1877, p» 145.)
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum.
291. Pyrrhula enucleator, Linn. (?)
Pine Grosbeak. Jap. ' Ginzan-mashiko.'
The Kai-taku-shi department possesses a bird said to have been
obtained in Yezo, probably of this species.
It is quite possible that the Scarlet Grosbeak, P. erythina, Pall.,
which ranges across Siberia as far as Eamschatka — a much smaller
bird — may also be found in Japan.
292. Coccothraustes Japonicus, Bp.
Japan Hawfinch. Jap. * Himi.'
Seen about Yokohama in winter; tolerably common in Yezo,
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely, ' Ibis,'
1867, p. 201 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis/ 1874, p. 160.)
The separation of this as a species distinct from the European
C. vulgaris, Pall., is questioned by ornithologists, but the late Mr. R.
Swinhoe retained the name in his paper on the " Birds of Chefoo."
('Ibis,1 1875, p. 121.)
Coccothraustes personatus, T. & S.
Masked Grosbeak. Jap. ' Ikaru.'
This bird, described originally from Japan in the ' Fauna Japonica,'
like the preceding and following species, is also an inhabitant of China.
It is found commonly on Fuji-sail in July. It has a pleasing note, and
is capable of being made very tame. Examples also obtained in Yezo.
(Whitely, « Ibis,' 1867, p. 201 : Swinhoe, ' Ibis,' 1877, p. 145.)
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
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BLAKISTON AND PBYERI ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 286
294. COCCOTHBAUSTES MBLANUBU8, Gmel. (?)
Black-tailed Grosbeak. Jap. ' Shima-ikaru.*
The Kiyou-iku Haku^butsu-kuwari has a specimen obtained from a
bird dealer in Toukiyau about the size of japonicus. The bill is yellow,
tipped with black. Head and neck black all round as far down as 12
millimetres behind the eye.
295. Loxia albivbntris, Swinh.
Swinhoe's Crossbill. Jap. ' Isuka.'
The late Mr. R. Swinhoe described the representative in North
China of the common Crossbill of Europe, L, cundrostra, L., as a
distinct species. (P. Z. 8. 1870, p. 487). Ornithologists doubt the
white belly distinction being sufficient to. give it more than a sub- specific
rank. It can stand, however, till farther observation clear up the
question. Qut of a collection of specimens made in Yezo, and now
in the Hakodate Museum, Mr. Swinhoe's identification was made.
(Swinhoe, « Ibis,1 1875, p. 450.)
Very common in the year 1878 about Toukiyau and Fuji-san.
Specimens in the Toukiyau Museums.
296. Pybbhula obxentalis, T. & S.
Eastern Bullfinch. Jap. ' Teri-uso.'
Valued much by Japanese as a cage-bird. Found in winter about
Yokohama; heard on Fuji-san in July. Not uncommon in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Tokiyau Museums. (Blakiston, ' Ibis,'
1862, p. 828: Whitely, 'Ibis/ 1867, p. 208: Swinhoe, 'Ibis/ 1874, p.
160.) •
297. Nyctea Scandiaca, L.
Snowy Owl.
A live specimen brought into Hakodate, obtained in the neighbour-
hood on 29th Nov., 1879, is probably the first recorded instance of this
bird in Japan.
298. Ninox japonicus, T. & S.
Brown Hairy-footed Owl. Jap. 'Awoba-dzuku.'
This peculiar owl was described in the ' Fauna Japonica ' as Stria
hirsute japonica. It is not uncommon in summer about Yokohama,
and a specimen in the Kai-taku-shi Museum is said to have been
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286 BLAKISTON AND PRYEH : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. •
obtained in Yezo. Mr. R. Swinhoe remarks in his Chefoo notes (' Ibis/
1874, p. 488) that the northern race is larger, deeper coloured, and
less rufescent than that of Southern China.
Specimen in the Hakodate Museum.
299. Sybnium bufescens, Temm.
Owl. Jap. 'Fukurou.'
Mr. H. Seebohm has named a specimen sent him as S. uralense,
sub-species fucescens. ('Ibis,' 1879, p. 41.)
This is the most abundant owl met with in the neighbourhood of
Toukiyau. It is found also in Yezo, where the specimens are lighter
than those from the South. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau
Museums. (Whitely, 'Ibis/ 1867, p. 194: Blakiston and Pryer,
'Ibis/ 1878, p. 246.)
Nest in a hole in a tree ; eggs two to three, very round, white,
but generally soiled ; 2 inches long and 5 inches in circumference.
800. Asio accipitbtnus, Pall.
Short-Eared Owl. Jap. ' Ko-mimi-dzuku.'
Tolerably common in Yezo, probably also on the Main Island.
Specimens in the Hakodate Museum. (Whitely, ' Ibis,' 1867, p. 195 :
Blakiston and Pryer, 'Ibis,* 1878, p. 246: Seebohm, 'Ibis,' 1879,
p. 41.)
This is the Otus brachyotus of many ornithologists ; is found nearly
all the world over, and is a migratory bird.
801. Asio otus, L.
Long-Eared Owl: Jap. ' Tbra-fu-dzuku.'
Not uncommon about Yokohama ; also found in Yezo. Specimens
in- the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Whitely, ' Ibis,' 1867, p.
195 : Blakiston and Pryer, « Ibis,' 1878, p. 246 : Seebohm, « Ibis,1 1879,
p. 41.)
This is the Otus vulgaris of former nomenclature. It inhabits the
greater part of the continents of Europe and Asia and Northern Africa.
The North American representative is usually considered a distinct
species.
802. Bubo ionavus, T. Forster.
Eagle Owl. Jap. ' Shima-fukurou.'
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BLAKISTON AMD PBYER *. ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 287
This is the B. Maximus of most authors inhabiting Europe and Asia.
The Yamashita Haku-butsu-kuwaii Museum possesses a live ex-
ample, and a* specimen obtained in Yezo is in the Hakodate Museum.
(Blakiston and Pryer, ' Ibis/ 1878, p. 247.)
808. Scops stictonotus, Sharpe.
Owl.
A specimen sent from Hakodate was pronounced by the late Mr.
R. Swinhoe as of this species, distinct both from S. simia, and
S. japonicus. It remains to be seen if there are not two species of these
diminutive Owls in Japan.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
« Ibis/ 1875, p. 448.)
804. Scops semitobques, Schleg.
Owl. Jap. ' Oho-ko-no-ha-dzukn.'
This Owl, tolerably abundant in Yezo, was identified from there
by the late Mr. R. Swinhoe. (« Ibis,' 1875, p. 448.)
Specimens in the Hakodate Museums.
805. Scops semttorques-major.
Large specimens from Yokohama and Toukiyau only, Hakodate
specimens being small.
We have thought it best to separate the two forms provisionally.
806. Aquila chrysaetus, L.
Golden Eagle. Jap. ' Inu-wasmV
This is included in the 'Fauna Japonica' as A. fulva, on the
authority of a Japanese drawing. A live specimen at the Kiyou-iku
Haku-butsu-kuwan, and one obtained in the Yokohama game market,
are attributed to this species. The Haku-butsu-kuwan specimen had at
first a white tail, which changed to greyish brown, conspicuously barred
with black.
807. Haliaetus albicilla, L.
White-tailed Eagle. Jap. ' Oho-zhiro-washi.'
This is the common fishing Eagle of Japan. In Yezo it is numer-
ous on those parts of the coast most frequented by salmon. It also
breeds there. The Ainos keep it in confinement in wooden cages, in
the same way as they do young bears.
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288 BLAKI8T0N AND PRYEB : ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
808. Haijaetus pelagicus, Pall.
Northern Sea Eagle. Jap. ' Oho-washi.'
The existence of this fine Eagle in Japan, — the. authority of tho
'Fauna Japonica' having been doubted by some ornithologists, — is
now confirmed by the Kiyou-iku Haku-butsu-kuwafi having received a
specimen from Eafu-shiu.
The Hakodate Museum contains specimens from Kamschatka and
the Sea of Okhotsk.
809. Pandion hauaetus, L.
Osprey. Jap. ' Misago.'
. The Osprey builds near Yokohama .on Saru-shima, where it remains
the year-round. A specimen collected by Mr. F. Ringer at Nagasaki
was found to agree with one in' the Hakodate Museum collected in Yezo.
810. MlLVTJS MELANOTIS, T. & S.
Black-Eared Kite. Jap. ' Tonbi.'
This commop bird in the east is found in numbers throughout
Japan. It is very, useful as a scavenger. The nest is often placed in a
Cryptomeria, and is composed of a large platform of sticks, with bits
of rag, paper, etc., for lining. Nidification in the neighbourhood of
Toukiyau commences early in March, the young, however, not leaving
the nest before June. Lays two large eggs of a dull white, with liver-
coloured blotches. Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums.
(Blakiston, 'Ibis/ 1862, p. 814: Whitely, •Ibis/ 1867, p. 194:
Swinhoe, 'Ibis,1 1874, p. 160.)
811. Spizaetus nipalensis, Hodgs.
Eagle Buzzard. Jap. * Kuma-taka.1 .
This fine bird breeds on Ohoyama, where it remains the year round ;
it can easily be attracted within shot by imitation of a monkey's cry.
Specimens obtained in Yezo in the Hakodate Museum. Alsq in the
Toukiyau Museums.
812. Archtbuteo lagopus, Gm.
Rough-legged Buzzard. Jap. * Eeashinosuri.'
Specimens obtained at Hakodate, in the museum there, are referred
to this species.
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER! ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. ZOV
818. BUTEO JAP0NICUS, T. & S.
Japan Buzzard. Jap. ' Aka-nosuri.'
There is a little doubt as to this bird ranking as a species, it being
considered by some ornithologists as B. plumipes, Hodgs. Mr. J. H.
Gurney is of opinion that the pale form figured in the 'Fauna Japonica'
as immature, is merely a less rufous phase of plumage. A specimen
was sent to Mr. Seebohm early in 1878.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Blakiston
and Pryer, « Ibis,' 1878, p. 248 : Seebohm, ' Ibis,1 1879, p. 41.)
814. BUTEO HEMILASIUS, T. & S.
Buzzard. Jap. ' Oho-nosuri.'
This rests on the authority of the ' Fauna Japonica,' where it is
figured.
•
816. Butastur indicus, Gmel.
Buzzard. Jap. ' Sashiba.'
Very common in Yamato and Shikoku, where it is almost the only
Hawk to be seen at certain seasons. As yet not found in the north.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm,
•Ibis/ 1879, p. 42.)
It was given in the ' Fauna Japonica,' as Poliornis poliogenys,
which now drops into a synonym only.
816, Pernis PTHiORHYNCHus, Temm.
Japan Honey-Buzzard. Jap. ' Hachi-kuma.'
When the * Fauna Japonica ' was published this was considered to
be identical with the Honey Buzzard of Europe, which it has proved
not to be. (Seebohm, •Ibis,1 1879, p. 42.)
817. ASTUB PALUMBARIUS. L.
Goshawk. Jap. ' Oho-taka.'
This is the bird most used by the Japanese for hawking, a spert
which was much practised in the feudal times., but which is little kept
up now.
Obtained at Nitsu-kuwau, Toukiyau, Yokohama, and in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm, ' Ibis,'
1879, p. 42.)
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240 BLAKISTON AND FRYER: ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN.
818. ACCIPITER NISUS, L.
Sparrow-hawk.
This is a common bird both on the Main Island and Yezo. Is also
used for hawking. The Japanese call the male ' Konori ' and the female
' Haitaka.'
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyan Museums. (Blakiston,
'Ibis/ 1862, p. 814: Whitely, 'Ibis,' 1867, p. 194.)
Authentic .specimens from Japan are in the collections of Lord
Tweeddale and Messrs. Salvin and Go dm an. (Seebohm, ' Ibis,' 1879,
p. 42.)
819. ACCIPITER OULARIS, T. & S.
Hawk. Jap. ' Tsume.'
Figured in the ' Fauna Japonica.' Obtained in Yezo by Commodore
Perry's expedition. (Swinhoe, * Ibis,' 1868, p. 448.) Other specimens1
since obtained. (Seebohm, * Ibis,' 1879, p. 42.) It is considered by
some as only a large form of A. virgatus, Temm.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. Specimens
form Nitsu-kuwau and Tsuruga.
820. Cebchneis tinnunculus.
Sub-sp. jajyoniais, T. & S.
Japan Kestrel. Jap. ' Maguso-daka.'
Deferring to opinions of leading ornithologists, this bird is only
given the rank of a sub-species of the European Kestrel. It seems
common enough in the south, including Nagasaki, but examples have
not yet been obtained in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Seebohm,
< Ibis,' 1879, p. 42.)
Eggs 5, reddish- white, patched with red-brown ; often builds in a
hole in a cliff or bluff.
821. Hypotriobchis subbuteo, L.
Hobby. Jap. ' Chigo-hayabusa.'
Tolerably abundant in Yezo. Specimens in the Hakodate Museum.
(Swinhoe, 'Ibis,' 1875, p. 448 : Seebohm, 'Ibis,' 1879, p. 42.)
822. Hypotriorchis jesalon, L.
Merlin. . Jap. ' Koteu-geiibo,'
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BLAKISTON AND PRYER I ON THE BIRDS OF JAPAN. 241
Very common on the Main Island ; probably the most numerous
Hawk in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
« Ibis,' 1877, p. 144 : Seebohm, « Ibis,' 1879, p. 45.)
N.B. — H. amuremis was wrongly admitted in the catalogue of the
Birds of Japan published in the * Ibis,4 1878.
323. Falco peregrintjs, Tunst.
Peregrine Falcon. Jap. • Hayabusa.'
This widely distributed bird, although resident in Japan, is believed
not to be used by the natives for hawking.
Specimens collected in Yezo are in the Hakodate Museum. (Blakis-
ton, « Ibis,' 1862, p. 314 : Whitely, « Ibis,' 1867, p. 194.)
824. Circus cyaneus, L.
Hen-Harrier. Jap. 'Teuchi.*
Common in the winter at Susaki, Toukiyau ; in summer in Yezo.
Specimens in the Hakodate and Toukiyau Museums. (Swinhoe,
•Ibis/ 1875, p. 448.)
325. Circus spilonotus, Kaup.
Harrier.
■ Specimens obtained in Yezo in the Kai-taku-shi at Shiba, Toukiyau,
and in the Hakodate Museum. One procured at Awomori was identified
by Mr. R. Swinhoe. (' Ibis/ 1877, p. 144.)
Also in the Toukiyau Museums.
VOL. VIII. 31
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( 242 )
THE " KANA " TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM.
By F. V. Dickins.
[Read March 9, 1880.]
I am unable to accept the principles upon which the new scheme
for romanizing Japanese, as set forth in Mr. Sa tow's recent paper, is
based ; and venture, therefore, to lay before the Society the grounds
of my dissent, concluding, as I think I am bound to do, with a state-
ment of what I conceive to be a more rational and convenient mode of
transliteration.
Of late years, orthographical systems have been discussed upon
scientific lines, and practical rules established for the recording of
articulate sounds by more or less clear and simple methods. The nearly
unanimous consent of European orthographers and philologers has
established the supremacy of phonetic over etymological systems of
writing and spelling, and the differences that exist — and very wide and
serious they are — among those who have made a special study of the
subject, relate almost wholly to the practical application of a law or rule
itself well-nigh universally accepted and whicl) may be formulated in
the following terms : —
An alphabet should consist of as few letters as possible, keeping a due
mean between poverty and redundancy, and each' letter should have a
constant value which should always be given to it.
Did an universal alphabet exist, the whole science of orthography
would be summed up in this law, each articulate sound of human
speech being represented by a distinct symbol. But in the use of the
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DICKINS: THE KAKA TBANSLITERATION SYSTEM. 248
roman alphabet, which does not represent the whole of the articulate
sounds in any language, the law requires modification and must be thus
expressed : —
An alphabet in roman should consist of as many letters and combina-
tions of Utters as are necessary to represent the articulate sounds of the
language to which it is applied and no more ; and each of such letters
and combinations should have a constant value which should always be
given to it.
The first law is better exemplified in the Devanagari than in any
alphabet I am acquainted with.
The second law is, I believe, more strictly adhered to in the modern
orthography of Spanish, than in that of any existing European language.
Orthography, however, does not aim at more than recording
articulate sounds ; accent, emphasis or tone cannot well be represented
by letters, and the quantity of vowels in roman can only be marked by
signs or by doubling the vowel to represent the quantity when this-
is long.
That a right and convenient orthography is a matter of no
inconsiderable importance will readily to admitted by all who have
given any thought to the subject. The evils resulting from an imperfect,
clumsy and obscure system are sufficiently patent, and affect not merely
the present but each succeeding generation. A confused and uncertain
orthography, such as that of our own language, following no law,
phonetic or other, and stuffed with useless and false etymologies, not
only renders the education of the masses vastly more difficult than it
need be, but stands in the way of ourselves and our literature being
adequately known and appreciated by foreigners, to our and their (I dare
to say) great and permanent harm. It is a monstrous absurdity to
spell ' cough,' ' though,' 'plough,' ' rough,' and ' through',' — five totally
distinct sounds — with the same letters • ough,' not one of which has its
proper value given to it, for the normal English ' u ' is 'that of ' put,'
• full,' etc., not that of ' gun,' ' dull,' etc. Great, however, as the
absurdities and inconveniences of our orthographical system are, it is a
question whether the inconveniences of any very considerable change of
it would not be greater, and I cannot say that I am prepared to welcome
any revolutionary modification which might require too large a sacrifice
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244 DICKINS: THE KAMA TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM.
on our part in the interests of posterity. With the Japanese language,
however, the case is altogether different. There we have to deal not
with the reformation of an existing, but with the creation of a new,
roman 'orthography, and there is no reason why the best possible
system in that character should not be adopted. I have enunciated the
law which is admitted by European philologers and orthographers to
form the only proper orthographical rule, and which is essentially
phonetic in principle. I need only cite as authorities the Spanish
academy, the spelling reformers of Germany, and such names as Max
Miiller, Skeat, Morris, Sweet and Ellis. But the kana transliterators of
Japanese, wholly ignoring European orthographical science, look upon
the phonetic principle as of merely subordinate value, and base their
system mainly upon etymology. Their view seems to be that, so far as
the Japanese language at least is concerned, the writing and spelling of
words should rather record facts in their history than afford a clear
And certain guide to their pronunciation. It is with great diffidence
that I venture to oppose my own opinion to the deliberate expressions
of such well-known scholars as Mr. Satow and Mr. Chamberlain, but I
cannot think they are right* in this matter. .1 am not aware of any
peculiarity in the Japanese language involving the propriety of a different
orthographical treatment of it from that of other languages, and I shall,
in the sequel, try to show that the new system cannot be justified by
the plea of any special practical convenience or need, on the part of
Japanese scholars or the general public, foreign or Japanese, being met
by it. The basis of Japanese orthography must, I believe, be phonetic,
as is most assuredly the basis of European scientific — or, to use a more
fitting expression — rational orthography. Etymology is an important
and most interesting science, but with it, in my opinion, the symboliza-
tion of articulate speech has no concern whatever. Orthography is,
strictly speaking, an art rather than a science — the art of recording
language — and, whilS using the simplest available means, should be
based upon the fewest, clearest and most constant rules. Great as the
scientific interest of etymology undoubtedly is, it§ practical value is small,
while the advantages of an uncomplicated orthography are of the highest
moment to the millions who are concerned with reading and writing
their language, and have little or no need of being reminded in the
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DICKINS : THE KANA TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM. 245
spelling of each word of facts in its history. A 'word, indeed, "alphabeti-
cally written upon an etymological system, is a mere Chinese character
composed of alphabetic elements : surely a monstrous sort of hybrid not
in any case to be created, and only to be accepted when already
existent under inevitable need.
In addition to these general, there are, to my mind, special,
objections to the proposed system of transliteration. The Japanese
iroha is (mainly) a syllabic alphabet wholly unfit for representation
syllabically in an alphabet of a different kind. In uttering the word
'Yokohama' we simply recapitulate the syllabic iroha characters of.
which it is composed by name, but as written in roman the
characters are not pronounced nominatirn but are used as symbolic
representations of sounds. The transliteration of iroha into roman
must follow the laws of the latter alphabet, just as in making a translation,
however literal, from Japanese into English, we follow the syntactical
and other rules of English not of. Japanese grammar and composition.
But the kana transliterators transliterate more than literally : — it is as
if in putting Japanese into English they gave indeed the English
equivalent for the Japanese words, but arranged the former in the order
required by Japanese syntax — something of a convenience possibly to
Japanese scholars, but a plan utterly unsuitable for the general
public or for general purposes.
My venturous criticism, upon Mr. Satow's essay, or rather upon
the orthographical portion of it, — for with that alone do I feel myself
competent to deal, — is based upon the Understanding that the scheme set
forth in it is intended for universal acceptance not only among foreigners,
but among the Japanese themselves when they shall have the wisdom and
the courage to discard both the Chinese character and their own kana.
My opinion is, and long has been, that not all the reforms hitherto
. made in Japan are collectively of anything like the importance that
attaches to a romanization of the language. I have not space here to
do more than indicate the grounds of my opinion. My own experience
of the language is that athe difficulties met with in its acquirement are
almost wholly difficulties of decipherment. The best scholars among us
read the easiest and most clearly printed Japanese painfully ; the most
intelligible handwriting is a mystery save to perhaps a dozen Europeans,
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246 DICKINS: THE KANA TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM.
and probably not a single European can handle the Japanese brush with
the ease of a very ordinarily educated native. Few natives even (I have
often made the experiment) can read the common books with fluency, — can
read phrases or lines at a glance as we can in English ; each character
or word must be singled out by eye and mind and separately perceived
and comprehended. A native clerk, acquainted with rbman, who for
some time was in my employ, and who had to translate or copy for me
numerous legal documents written in Japanese, as well as make extracts
' from books, was induced by me (chiefly for my own convenience) to
• use roman in all transcriptions from his own language. I found such
transcriptions, after a little practice, as easily legible and intelligible as
similar matter in French or German would be. I could indeed run the
eye over them with almost the same case as over English documents,
with immense saving of time and energy. And this though the major
part of such transcriptions consisted of Sinico-Japanese. Not only
was this result achieved, but the clerk himself soon* came to prefer his
romanized transcriptions to copies or 'originals in the Japanese character.
In short, after much pondering over a' subject that has been matter of
reflection with me during many years, I am persuaded that the romanization
of Japanese would do more toward, perfecting the civilizatory changes
now in progress, by facilitating the education of the people of Japan
in the more extended sense of the expression, and by enabling them
more easily to understand and be understood by the rest of the
world, than the whole mass of reforms that have taken place since the
downfall of the Tokugawa dynasty. The education of the people would
be relieved of at least two-thirds of the difficulties that at present attend
upon it, the spread of knowledge would become possible, and political
reforms,1 without which any real or permanent advance of the nation is
1Aa matters are, it appears to me that the government is drifting more and
more into the hands of a set of bureaucratic oligarchs, among whom those who
have been in Europe or America, and have there become tinctured with western
ideas, not very completely understood, will have the greatest influence, and will
be, at the same time, the least in unison with their countrymen. Political power
cannot be vested in the hands of the masses without concomitant education, which
in any sufficient degree is impossible so long as about seven years study is
necessary for a native to become properly conversant with the actual modes of
writing his own tongue.
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DICED* 8 : THE KANA TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM. ( 247
not to be dreamed of, would thus become feasible. I cannot dwell
longer on the advantages that would result from the changes ; they are
sufficiently obvious, and, indeed, may be easily realised by imagining
for a moment the effect in a country like England of an adoption of
Japanese modes of representing the language in a written form. I
shall, however, mention shortly one benefit that would almost surely be
brought about^— an immense one, though of a purely literary character —
the arrestment, namely, of the degradation of the language actually in
rapid progress. Indeed, Japanese is fast disappearing as a written
language, and becoming replaced by a splay-footed and inharmonious .
species of broken-down Chinese, difficult of composition and more so of
comprehension. This particular kind of degradation is only possible
so long as Chinese characters are employed; the false mintage of
current writers would of necessity cease when they found themselves
obliged to use Japanese materials — not mere Chinese signs — to express
their ideas with. In the term ' Japanese materials ' I of course' include
such Sinico-Japanese words as have been sanctioned by sufficient usage.
There are ample stores of such materials in existence without having
recourse to mere sign-combinations which instruct the eye rather than
the ear, and which widen the. breach — already too wide — between the
written and spoken languages. Indeed, I should like to see the use
of even admitted Sinico-Japanese restricted as much as possible ; new
combinations might, I think, be made in. nearly all cases of purely
Japanese elements, with the result of a much more harmonious and
much more intelligible language than would otherwise be attainable.8
I cannot here anticipate objections ; the most serious one would be the
length of certain combinations of Japanese elements, but these would
not be longer than what we* find in German. Chinese might still be
resorted to somewhat as we resort to Latin and Greek — a practice
which our best writers, however, unite in avoiding as much as possible.
I do not admit Mr. Chamberlain's contention that there are practi-
cally two languages in Japan. I am still myself though the molecules of
9 A Japanese language thus developed, with a few more regular syntactical
rules than at present seem to be followed, would be an admirable vehicle of
thought, ami quite capable in time of producing a valuable literature of its own, as
well as of clear and brief conveyance of western ideas.
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248 , DICKINS: THE KANA TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM.
my body may be replaced every seven or ten years, and despite the
immense and most regrettable influx of Chinese into the language of
Japan, it is still Japanese that the- people write and speak, just as
Johnsonian was still English though stuffed with words of non-English
origin. In all countries with any literature there is a more or less
considerable difference between the language of society and that of
books. In English a large number of words, chiefly of Latin and French
derivation, are hardly met with out of books ; such as, for instance,
1 effulgent,' * commodious,' ' calamity,' etc., which in oral intercourse
would be replaced by 'bright,' ' convenient,' ' misfortune '; but it would
not, I think, be therefore correct to Bay there were two English
languages. Nor, indeed, if Mr. Chamberlain's assertion were true, do I
understand how the fac.t could warrant any departure from an ortho-
grahical law itself laid down on a rational basis.
I fail completely, also, to see how the kana system can subserve
any special . convenience or need of Japanese scholars. These are just
the very last persons to require being reminded every time they wish to
write or read the word soro that it may once have been safurafu by
such a wonderful (to ordinary unlearned folk) spelling of it.
My criticism upon the details of the kana scheme will be found in
the presentment of what I venture to call the natural system of
transliteration, or phonetic romanization of Japanese. But to illustrate
and make clear the meaning of the foregoing remarks, I shall
take to pieces a single example of kana orthography, and I
cannot choose a better one than the Chinese ideograph — for it is
nothing else — zhiyau, which \ write, and the foma-spellers as well
as myself and the whole population of Japan pronounce, jo. In
zhiyau not a single letter retains the phonetic value given to it in
the kana alphabet ; did they retain that value the combination would
be pronounced not jo, but dzu-hee-yah-oo. Was any character, now so
fama-spelled, ever thus pronounced ? • I more than doubt it. If never,
and still not, so pronounced, why so spell it? What fact of value,
what certain fact valuable or valueless, does such a spelling preserve
record of? What need, special or general, does it subserve? Under
any theory that I can think of the letters ' i ' and ' y ' are redundant, or
rather superfluous, both phonetically and etymologically. The combina-
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DICKINS: THE KANA TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM. * 249
tion ' zh ' is unnecessary, representing what may be equally well if not
better represented by * j.' And 'au ' in the same way represents what
(as I conceive) may be equally well if not bettel' represented by « 6.'
With regard to this mode of representing the long *o'8 I may be
permitted some amplification. It is a great, if not the greatest point in
the scheme I am considering, that the long * o ' should be represented in
some cases by * on,' in others by ' au ' in Sinico- Japanese. Thus, it is said,
the fact of derivation from a Chinese syllable ending in «'ang ' or ( ung '
will Jbe preserved, and ' tau ' (Ch. tang) will be distinguished from * tou '
(Ch. tmg). This may be true, but as I have previously shown, ortho-
graphy has nothing to do with etymology at the expense of clearness
and constancy of sound. Just as no one would dream of inventing an
English orthography which would use the same letters 'ough' to
represent five different sounds (' though,' ' rough,' * thought,' ' plough/
'through'), so no one, I conceive, ought to invent a Japanese ortho-
graphy which would use a number of different letters or combinations to
represent the same sound. What is unwise economy in the one case —
orthographical stinginess — is unwise redundancy — orthographical pro-
digality— in the other. Again, is the distinction worth preserving ? I
think not.
We are not sure that Chinese * ang ' and ' ung ' were ever pro-
nounced * au ' (ah-oo) or • ou ' (oh-oo) by the Japanese. The spelling
* an,' ' ou ' was perhaps meant as an imitation of the Chinese nasal
sound before the invention of the kana character y which (I cannot
remember upon what authority I make the statement) I believe was
invented after the rest of the iroha. I do not understand how a
nasal (properly pharyngeal) sound produced at the back of the mouth
without the aid of buccal or labial muscular action could glide into a
sound ' ah-oo ' or * oh-oo ' produced at the front of the oral cavity with
buccal and labial assistance. The'theory, therefore, on which * ang ' and
< ang ' are represented by s au ' and * ou ' I am compelled to reject. I can
better comprehend the spellings ' teu ' and ' sen ' so far as the ' eu ' is
concerned, because these Sinico- Japanese syllables commonly represent
Chinese originals in * ao,' and * ao ' readily enough glides into * eu '
(eh-oo). Again, ' au' does not'always represent ' ang ' nor ' ou ' ' ung ' ;
8 Also represented by the combinations * eu,' * efu,' * afu,' • ofu ' and * oho.'
vol. rax. 32
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250 4 DIOKINS: THE KANA TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM.
nor does either, in any case, indicate more than a relation to a class of
'ang" or 'ling' (or 'ing') Chinese syllables, never to the actual
Chinese original save when (if ever) the ' class' is reduced to a single
individual. For instance, c mau ' might indicate a specific original if
there were in Chinese but one single character with the sound * mang ';
if there were two or more so sounded the spelling * mau ' would merely
show that the Chinese original was one of a number of characters each
pronounced ( mang.'
Many of the Chinese syllables now pronounced with final ' ang '
were anciently pronounced with final ' ring,' * eung,' or even * ong,' and
it is therefore possible that 'au' may be in many cases a wrong
replacement of ' ou ' on the kana system itself.
I shall now take the syllable sho and see what the spellings shiyau
and shiyou may respectively indicate. *
Shiyau may indicate any of the following Chinese characters
pronounced in current Kwanhwa: c chang/ • ch'ang/ c chwang/ ' shang,'
4 shong / in other dialects ' cheung/ ' chiong/ * ch'eung/ * ch'iong/
•chong/ *chiung/ 'sheung/ ' shiong/ 'shang/ 4 seng/ and anciently
' tung ' * t'ung ' and * shung ' : — jg£ and compounds jj£ || ffc fgfc ■££ jgf
jfj $£ . h 1ft 4? Ml and many others, qua nunc perscribere longum est.
Shiyou may indicate any of the following Chinese signs pro-
nounced in current Mandarin: ( chung,' ' ch'ung/ etc.: anciently * tong,'
• t'ong/ etc.: — g|, H tfi» 8 m& others. Also not a few characters
pronounced ' ching/ * ch'ing/ and ' shing ' in Mandarin are written
in kana with final * ou.' Thus ^K, Qf, Jgfc, J£ (and compounds) f£,
JSfc> 2> IJfr ft (»P* compounds) j$, p, $|, 3j£, Jg, jg, etc., etc., are,
in Sinico-Japanese dictionaries, commonly transliterated in * ou/ as
4 shiyou/ * zhiyou * or * chiyou.' Some, perhaps, ought to be rendered
with * ya ' in lieu of * yo.'
From the above it is abundantly clear that the spellings * ou ' and
1 au ' preserve no record of any valuable etymological (or other) fact — of,
indeed, any certain fact valuable or valueless — except that some characters
pronounced now with final long ' o ' sound are in Japanese dictionaries
usually spelt * au ' and ' ou.' But why introduce phonetic inconstancy
and redundancy merely to record a practice of Japanese dictionaries — a
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DICHNS: THE KANA TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM. 251
practice, too, not invariable, for in some the Sinico- Japanese c 6 ' is repre-
sented not by ' au,f ' ou,' but by * afu,' ' ofu ' ? The kana spelling of
* 6,' then, is admittedly of no phonetic nse, and I show that it is of no
etymological value either. Has it any practical value? It may
distinguish to the eye ' ton's ' from ' tau's,' but not one ' ton '
from another ' ton/ or one ' tau ' from another ' tan.' I think I am
justified in saying that ft would not be worth while to add a dot to a
written word for the purpose of making the first mentioned distinction.
I may here remark, parenthetically, that in Chinese the older sound
of 'ang' was nearly always 'ung,' the reverse seldom obtaining;
and * ou ' (in Sinico- Japanese), therefore, is a more legitimate spelling
in all probability than ' au.' Still, whatever may have been the reason,
• ang ' was generally rendered 'au' or * ara/ and * ung ' * ou ' or
' ofu '; but as the reason, whatever it was, no longer exists, and as the.
spelling phonetically inadmissible is etymologically and practically
valueless, I do not see why it should be re-created in a romanized
transliteration. To abolish it in using the kana syllabaries were another
matter, with which I do not here concern myself.
In what precedes I must not be understood to assert that ortho-
graphy ought to take no notice of etymology. On the contrary, there are
in all languages words susceptible of various spellings, in the choice of
which etymology and practical convenience may be useful guides. But
orthography ought in no case to yield to etymology-— or at least such cases
are extremely rare ; it may concede something to practical convenience
in instances of special importance. The law and rule I have ventured to
enunciate involve in their application the greatest possible economy of
letters, and thus of time, type and paper — no inconsiderable advantages.
By way of illustration I give a sentence taken from Mr. As ton's
grammar, written according to the kana scheme, and according to my
own, which I term the Natural System.
Shiyo kan wo mochite kdzhiyau itashi safurafu. (40 letters, one
mark.)
Sho kan wo motte keijo itashi soro. (28 letters, 8 marks.)
I believe the letter-economy on the natural system is, in relation
at all events to Sinico-Japanese, fully thirty per cent, on the letter-
labour of the kana system. Lastly, Japanese, like Spanish and Italian,
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252 DICKINS: THE KANA TBAN8LITERATI0N SYSTEM.
is a language peculiarly suited for phonetic representation. The vowel
sounds are distinct, there are no diphthongs, no difficult aggregations of
consonants, and very few peculiar sounds.
I shall now present my own natural scheme, not as a perfect one,
but as ( materiel pour servir,1
The general rules of it are sufficiently simple.
1st. Full value to be always given to each letter or combination.
2nd. The alphabet consists of certain letters and certain combina-
tions having constant values.
8rd. The vowels are sounded as in Italian, except • u '.
4th. The consonants sole and in combinations are pronounced as
in English.
5th. 'U' is pronounced as in English 'put,' 'full,' etc.; the com-
bination 'hi' and the letters 'g,' 'n,' V have peculiar values, differing
somewhat but not much from their values in English and most
continental languages.
[In 'zhiyau' (j6) every one of these rules is transgressed — O
scelus ! — unless, indeed, the whole be considered as a kind of ideographic
combination, to which plea I should put in the replication that it is an
uneconomical and unnecessary combination of unsuitable elements.]
The alphabet consists of the following vowels, a, e, i, o, u, pro-
nounced as in Italian, save (u* which is sounded as in English 'put/
' full ;' for a> see below. There are no diphthongs, full value being given to
each member of a combination of vowels. The consonants and their com-
binations are, following the order sanctioned in Mr. Satow's paper1 : — k,
g, s, sh, z, t, ts, ch, d, j, dz, n, h, hi, f, p, b, m, y, r, w. All are pro-
nounced as in English, subject as undersaid.
* G.' Always hard. I agree entirely with what is proposed in Mr.
Satow's paper, page 289, relative to this letter.
* 8/ ( sh.' See the above paper, page 240. But & I write f ji.' &
has exactly that value ; ' zh ' has it not in any language that I know of.
Whether there was ever any difference between $r and -flam not
sure. I am sure there is none now, and there is no etymological
advantage to be gained, by writing «r and -F differently, to counter-
balance the phonetic confusions and redundancy that would result
* Transactions, vol. vii, page 255.
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DICKINS: THE KANA TKANSLITBRATION SYSTEM. 258
from such a transliteration. Nor is * zh * a fit combination. Z was
originally pronounced * sd ' (then as in old English confounded with y) ;
' h ' is an aspirate and in «r I find nothing of either sound. & again .
does not bear the relation to $/ that ' zh ' bears to * sh,v which is exactly
that of the ' s ' in ' occasion/ ' pleasure/ etc., to the ' ss ' in ' passion/
But I do not think that this 'zh' ('a* in ' occasion/ 'pleasure/ etc., or
French ' j ' sound) exists in Japanese at all.
I ought to have stated that as some standard must be adopted, I
adopt the pronunciation of the better classes in Yedo as mine. •
1 Ch * with * sh ' and — but in a less degree — ' hi ' are the only
empirical combinations ; ' ts ' and ' dz ' have the full value of their
constituents : indeed they are not, strictly speaking, combinations at ail.
' Dz ' is only to be used with the vowel ( u/ and represents both
X and yv
"' N ' is to be written simply. At the end of syllables it possesses
a slight nasality (more accurately pharyngeality). In Sinico- Japanese
compounds a hyphen should intervene between the final ' n ' of a first
and a beginning vowel of a sequent syllable. The hyphen tends, among
other advantages it has, to indicate equality of stress of accent on the
elements of a Sinico- Japanese compound. Thus Akuwan-on/ *kon-i/
not 'kuwanon/ 'koni.' To. my mind the Spanish 'n' does not
represent the sound : the Sanscrit * n ' with a dot over it would be more
correct. The nasality is often very slight, and replaced by a double ' n '
sound, e.g. 'tennd/ 'yennin/ for 'ten-6/ 'yen-in.1 Before consonants
other than ' k ' and ' g/ ' n ' is not nasalised more at ail events than in
English. 'Hannen/ ' andon/# anraku/ 'konjitsu/ etc., etc., do not at
all need to be written with n. It is to be remembered, too, that
Sinico- Japanese syllables in ' n ' are not forms of the distinctly nasal
Chinese syllables in ' ng/ The nasalisation is probably euphony only,
and as I have said is often hardly perceptible. Such at least is my
experience.
1 H * is always a strong aspirate." I doubt the wisdom of using it
before terminal-' u ' and ' i ' of verbs (' omohu/ ' omohi ') ; ' ohoi ' I should
write *6i/ 'he/ 'ye/ unless the 'h* be used as an aspirate. But see post.
' Hi ' I should use for the peculiar sound described in Mr. Satow's
paper.
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254 DICKIKS: THE KANA TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM.
4 F ' has always its full value. I should not write ' fu ' or ' fi '
except where the * f * was pronounced with full value. In my scheme
it would only he found with the vowel ' u.'
' R,' « P,» « B, ' * M,' * Y ' are sufficiently treated of in Mr. Satow's
paper.
1 W ' is used with ' a ' only, save in the particle 'wo.'
I now pass on to the important subject of orthography, premising that
I can attempt here nothing more than a sketch, which others with more
leisure and greater competence ad hoc must nil up. Imperfect as the
Roman alphabet is, it is a much more perfeet sound-representing means
than the kana syllabary, and in using the better it does not appear to me
wise to limit oneself in the least degree by the worse mode.
And first as to vowel spelling.
I dp not make — it is not necessary to make — any diphthongs in
Japanese. The vowel-combinations are 'ai,' *au ' ('am* (ahu' in kana),
1 ei,' ' in' (• ifu,' • ihu ' in kana)y «ou' permissibly (' ofu ' 'ohu* in kana),
1 aa • or long • & ' as in ' obaasan,' ' ii ' or long • i ' as in ' yoroshii,' ' po '
or long * 6,' of which more anon, and ' uu ' or long c u * as in ' fuufu.'
The double vowels I spell as pronounced — double. Eaoh vowel com-
bination— each element — it may be fairly said has Ml value given to it
in a good pronunciation.
The sound of long ' 6,' in Sinico Japanese especially, I pcefer to write
so— whether represented in kana by ' an,' ' eu,' or ' on.' I should still
more prefer to write it like the contraction for * ra ' in old English MS.
or the Omega in modern Greek and Russian, thus : — ' *>.' This oharacter
might be adopted when the Japanese take to romanization. But where
' 6 ' is represented in kana by * ofu,' as in ' omofu,' I think ' ou '
(or ' own ') may be written. In words like ' omofu ' I fancy the ' u '
sound is perceptible. At any rate it is worth while to try to preserve it
for reasons of clearness and convenience as well as of etymology.
* Omou ' as contraction for * omoku ' (heavy), no doubt will be liable
to be confounded with * omou '* (to think) ; but all anomalies cannot be
avoided by any system, and position always makes it easy to distinguish
between a verb and an adjective. A combination like ' yefu ' is difficult
to treat. I think as the * o ' sound runs through the conjugation, * yefu '
should be spelt ' you ' (or perhaps ' yowu '). In cases like ' yoku,*
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DICKINS : THE KANA TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM. 255
contracted into*1 yd,' I see no objection to the form * yo'u,' as we write
in English ' I'm,' « don't,' « he's ; ' as in Dutch, « s Gravenhoge ; ' as
ia French Ton,' 'd'un,' etc., etc. And in any case 'omowu' is
preferable to ' omofa,' the latter form being misleading phonetically, the
former only redundant. The same observations apply to words like
* warawn,' ' kirawu,' which may be so ^written, or « warau,' ' kirau,' which
I prefer ; but I cannot stomach c kirafu,* ( warafu,' whether or not the
Japanese so signified their hatred or mirth ten or twenty centuries ago.
' Oho ' in * ohoi,' ( Ohozaka,' etc., I should write 6 (or o>). I think the
' ho ' is a mere intensitive lengthener like the second ' o ' in Dutch ' 00/
and that the ( h ' was never pronounced : it certainly has no value given
to it in the Japanese speech of the day.
Where 'ki,' 'gi,' 'ni,' • hi,' ' ri ' precede cy,' I am inclined to
preserve both « i ' and ' y ;' thus * kiyd,' • giya,' etc., for to my ear both
are sounded. If both are not retained I should prefer to retain the ' y.'
'Kydto' would be less likely to be mauled than kid as in Kidto
'(kye-oh-to). ' Ke,' or • ge,' followed by ' u ' of course become ' kiyd,
•giyd,' 'meu,' 'miyd;' so « seu ' becomes 'shd'j'teu' 4chd'; *deu"
A zeu,' jd ; • heu,' hiyd ; ' beu,' * biyd.' « Shi,' c chi,' * ji ' preceding « y '
the combination loses ' i ' and ' y ' thus :
shiya, shiyo, sha, sho.
• chiya, chiyo, cha, cho.
jiya, jiyo; ja, jo.
It is an essential part of my scheme that ' h ' should never be
written unless intended to be pronounced as an aspirate. Thus I write
1 kuwan,' not ' kuhan ' (as it is often spelt in kana). I go so far as to
write ' kawa,' not ' kaha.' I cannot see the advantage of writing
'ka-ha' and pronouncing * ka-wa.' I do not retain the 'h' in verbal
forms. * Warahi,' A samurahi ' (kana) I prefer as ' warai,' ' samurai ' ;
or at least as * warawi,' ' samurawi.'
(H' before *e' presents some difficulty, but I should still follow the
rule and write * kayeri,' not 'kaheri ; ' ' haraye ' not ' harahe.' I am not
sure indeed that it would not be still better to write simply ' kaeri,' ' harae.'
The kana ' ye ' I should always so write. In words like ' yenrio,'
4 yennin,' the ( y ' sound is always to my ear more or less distinct, in
* yen ' especially so.
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256 DICKINS: THE KANA TBANSLTTEBATION SYSTEM
The doable consonants likewise present some difficulty, but I should
nevertheless write them donble instead of with preceding * tsn ' or ' ku '
or * chi • or ' ri/ unless these syllables are to be pronounced, as is
sometimes the case. 'Mochite,' ' ante,' etc., I have often heard so
pronounced in lieu of * motte,' ' atte,' especially in law-courts in
reading judgments, etc., etc. Thus my scheme would give, —
nikki, not nitsuki.
ittau, " itsutau.
icchi (itchi?), " itsuchi.
akki, " akuki.
issho, " itsusho.
hiyappo, " hiyaku-ho.
rippa, " ritsuha.
' Ku,' « gu/ before ' wo/ should be written in full. Thus ' kuwd/ not
* ^ ' ( jfc). The pronunciation ' kuwd ' (' u ' short as always in Japanese)
is not uncommon, and an endeavour should be made to retain it.
\) appears to be exactly the Sanskrit ' lri.' This peculiar 'r' seems
to be most commonly pronounced before ' i/ not before other vowels. 9
does not, I thinfc, occur in any Japanese word as an accented syllable.
To my ear the accent in Japanese, especially in the pure language,
tends to throw itself on the last syllable, save where this is * u/ and in
the latter case on the penultimate. The same obtains in French (the
exception as to * u ' being replaced by a similar one as to * e ' mute), and
as a consequence in French, as in Japanese, the stress of accent is much
less than in English, German, or Italian. The ' e ' mute sound, as in
French 'menu,' 'dehors,' German, ' muhme/ ' deutsche,' does not
exist in Japanese (nor in Italian or Spanish).
' D ' is not, I think, found in pure Japanese at all ; in Sinico- Japanese
only before ' a ' and ' o.'
' F * I find only before ' u.' ' L * not at all, nor * P ' (in Japanese
words), save in onomatopoetic expressions.
4 Si/ ' ti/ ' tu/ and the French ' j ' are absent ; so also both ' th '
sounds and that of ' v/
' W ' and ' Y ' are always consonants in my scheme.
I claim the following advantages to be possessed by the Natural
over the kana system.
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BI0SIN8: THE SANA TBANSLRBBATIOM SYSTEM. 257
1. Considerable economy of letters ; hence of type, time and paper.
2. Constancy of letter- value ; hence freedom from phonetic uncer-
tainty, while no etymological fact of any importance is lost.
8. Accordance with the spelling reform tendencies of most modern
European languages (and with the spelling scheme advocated by Dr.
Hunter under the Indian government for the romanization of Indian
languages), which are wholly phonetic. Sanskrit to some extent is an
exception, but this is chiefly because the Devanagari is itself a most
perfect phonetic non- syllabic alphabet.
4. Briefer and easier for the Japanese themselves and for foreigners
to learn and adopt.
5. The letter- values approximate so nearly to those of most
European alphabets that most Europeans would sufficiently well
pronounce Japanese without special study; Englishmen alone would
have to remember that the vowels have a, continental value (save * u ').
6. The easy rule, consonants and their combinations as in English,
vowels as in Italian, practically sufficient -for ordinary purposes; the
peculiar sounds * hi,' * ri,' etc., pronounced according to this rule not
considerably differing from the true pronunciation.
7. Less departure from the commonly received system.
The only disadvantages I can think of are : —
1. Some antique pronunciations would not be recorded.
2. Relation of Sinico-Japanese words ending in * 6 ' to their Chinese
originals would somewhat but not greatly be obscured.
8. In some instances words similarly pronounced would lose the eye
distinction of difference in spelling.
Thus shiyau-nin (sJwnin) j§jA> <a merchant/ would not be
distinguishable from shiyou-nin (slionin) f|A <a witness/ The dis-
advantage here is real, but not, I submit, so great as to counterbalance
the advantages I have enumerated. I do not think the number of words
similarly pronounced to be numerous. There are of course a great
many* shO' and 'jd,' but these are commonly in some combination.
Besides the kana system does not distinguish between the many ' sho '
and «jd' spelt & a $r and -p «a *r respectively ; it distinguishes at the
most but the class spelt with -V $r from that spelt with a £r .
yol. vni. 83
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258 diodns: the kaka translitbbation system.
In cases like 'omd' (omoku), 'omd' (omdfd), 'omoi* (omoki,
omoshi), ' omoi ' (omofi), I think it might he advisable to spell ' omo'u '
(omoku), ' omowu ' (omofu), ' omo'i ' (omoki, omoshi), ' omowi *
(omofi). This would preserve an useful eye- difference without introduc-
tions of phonetic confusion. Indeed the ' w ' in ' omowu ' might be of
service in conserving a slight difference of pronunciation between ' omd '
(heavy) and * omd * (to think).
Lastly, the Natural System would, as I have pointed out, tend
indirectly yet powerfully to arrest the process of degradation to whicE
literary Japanese more especially, but the spoken language, though to
a less degree, as well, is being subjected.
NATUBAL SCHEME OF BOMANIZATION OP THE TROHA.'
A \ ^ iu ^ iu (iwu).
fr 7 . '
& o *
p ro ro rd rou (rowu).
* 7 v '
>* ha ** hd ^ hau (hawu). When h is not aspirated, wa.
>* pa.
jt ba.
^ ni ~" niyo *"" niu.
* ho * ho hd hou (howu). When h not asp. wo or o.
tff po.
Tjr bo.
^ he ^ hiyd. When h not asp. ye or e.
~e pe.
-< be.
t to * td '"to tou (town).
Y do.
** chi ** cha cho -y ch6 a ch6 ~ chin.
■v =* &
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DICKINS : THE KANA TRANSLITEKATION SYSTEM. 259
f Jl.
»; »;
• * ;
riya
riyo
riyo
* nu.
ju- ra.
^ and % o
*
6
*6
ou (owu
)■ i
JT wa ^,6 (wo perhaps better, certainly so after P or jf).
* ka kd kau (kawu).
* Yo ^ y° a yo you (yowu). After t or y the y is lost.
» ta f to * tan (tawu).
if da.
V re riyd (?) riyo, riyou, riyowa (rewil).
> so
£ *
*
s6 son (sowu)
jr zo.
3> tsu
» ""TO
9 (?) tsuu, tsi
y dzu.
•^ ne.
7 ra
J-
7 rau (rawu).
•J- na
:-
nau (nawu).
a ma.
£r n when not compounded with a or o sound.
; no nd no nou (nowu).
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260 DICKINS: THE KANA TBANSLITERATION SYSTEM.
^ ku.
if gu.
"V ya Z y° (?) yaa (yawu)« Loses y after ^ .
<v ma
"* mo man (mawu).
* y * }
jr ke
* kiyd.
** ge.
7 fa when f is sounded, otherwise u or wu,
7° P*-
*
•jr bu.
a ko
3 ko a ko kou (kowu).
* go.
si and
* ye f! y° A y°u (yowu) (y
v y
•9- sa
* so * san (sawu).
if za.
^ te
9>
cho.
5? de
?*
7 a
^6 ^ au (awu).
*f ki * kiya ^kiyo a -V kiyo.
¥ gi.
a. yu where y is pronounced, otherwise u.
>t me £ tniyd.
s mi c miya = miyo a if miyo.
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DIOHNS: THE KANA TBAK8IJTKBATION 8TBTKM. 261
8hd.
V
shi
aha
sho
xT
ji-
t*
hi where h asp.,
, otherwise
i or wi.
IS
pi.
V
bi.
q& mo * m6 * m6 mou (mowu).
<te se 1* shd.
* -a
V ze - jo.
* su.
X" dzu.
V n.
In the above scheme are some sounds represented which I am not
sure exist in Japanese. For certain of the iroha combinations, a choice
of r oman transliterations is offered ; bat, throughout, the phonetic principle
is adhered to for endings such as (* ?)(-* ?) (* b)(-* b) (*£ *).4
I cannot quite please myself between (mou mown) (man mawu) (moi
mowi) (mai mawi) (md mo'u). On the whole I incline in each case to
the former mode. In ' yefu/ to be drunk, we have an anomaly, but
throughout the conjugation of the word the * yo ' sound is, I think,
adhered to. With double consonants I should write the mark of omission
('); thus, ak'ki, rip 'pa, is'sho, it'chi (or ic'chi?). This would not
be unphonetic, and would indicate a proper stress on the doubled
consonants.
I have written the foregoing pages, currente calamo, and do not
put forward my criticism or my scheme as exhaustive or accurate. It
were impossible for me, having no authorities at hand and writing
chiefly from memory, to submit more than an imperfect sketch of what
I conceive to be the weak points in the kana scheme, and of a better
4 There will be the Sinioo-Japanese ,«£ ijr about which I do not hesitate. I
represent it by md. Then there is -=fc £r , contraction for ^ 9 , as ^ ^ & ,
heavy. This might be written mo'u.
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DICKENS! THE SANA TBANSUTERATION SYSTEM.
system. Bat neither distance from Japan nor the pressure of other
occupations than the pleasant one of discussing cosas ds Japon will ever
make me lose, I trust, my deep interest in the country where I have
spent so many of the best years of my life — in its past and future, in its
people, their fortunes, language and literature. And I hope that my
desire to be useful in this matter of transliteration will stand me as
seme defence for inflicting upon the society the foregoing paper, which
1 feel to be a crude presentment of imperfectly thought-out conceptions.
F. V. DICKINS.
2 Temple Gardens,
London, October, 1879.
DISCUSSION.
The President, after thanking the author, and also Mr. Dallas for reading the
paper, suggested that a phonetic system of transliteration might be found useful in
providing a good means for beginning the study of the language, as had been
found to be the case by the advocates of the phonetic spelling of English. It had
to be borne in mind that no phonetic system could be absolutely accurate in
expressing all the delicate varieties of sound in any one language. He was sorry
to see that Mr. Satow was absent, but he hoped Mr. Chamberlain would have
something to say.
In reply to the President's invitation to address the meeting, Mr. Chanberlain,
while paying a tribute to Mr. Dickins's well-merited reputation as a Japanese
scholar, could not help drawing attention to the fact that, in citing as a parallel
to the "orthographic" spelling of Japanese the historic method of spelling our
own tongue which is now so very generally condemned by scientific philologists,
Mr. Dickins had coupled together two things between which there is scarcely any
resemblance. The common English spelling is not consistently etymological, nor
indeed consistent in any way. The Japanese spelling of all native words t«
indisputably etymological. Even if Mr. Dickins's contention against the value of
the etymologies of words borrowed from the Chinese be admitted for the sake of
argument, it was already abundantly shown in Mr. Satow's original paper on the
subject of transliteration that it would be highly inconvenient to allow the
romanization of such words to proceed on a different principle to the romanization
of words of native origin. The most trenchant arguments by which the phonetio
reformers of England, and of one or two continental countries support their
proposed innovations therefore fall to the ground in this glace. If, following Mr.
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Dickins's example, European precedents are to be brought forward, let us
rather adduce that of Greece, whose case is almost exactly parallel to the case of
Japan. There, too, there is an ancient tongue, the vehicle of almost all the
literature, and a modern dialect whose pronunciation is so much corrupted that, to
say nothing of other peculiarities, no fewer than seven letters or combinations of
letters are spoken with the one sound i, reminding one of the variously written
Japanese o's, whose unfamiliar spelling has of late been made the butt of so much
ridicule. Would now, let it be asked, any one seriously propose that Greek as* a
whole,— ancient literary Greek as well as modern colloquial Greek — should be
spelt according to the present Athenian pronunciation, simply on the score of the
greater convenience of such a plan to the few foreigners resident in the Greek
ports ? But it is thus that our Japanese phonetists ask us to act : in order to
facilitate the reading of some few names of places, steamers and such like to
English persons unacquainted or imperfectly acquainted with the Japanese lan-
guage, we are to commit the anachronism of transliterating the traditional standard
tongue, which is centuries old, according to the modern pronunciation of Tedo,
which may be different a hundred years hence from what it is to-day; for
pronunciation is a thing that is of its nature fluctuating, and a system of
writing which follows it therefore of necessity unstable. Referring to Mr.
Dickins's animadversion on his (Mr. Chamberlain's) distinction of two tongues
classed under the one denomination of " Japanese," he could only reassert that,
quite apart from the influence of Chinese words, the native language had in the
course of centuries suffered such modifications that the older written and the
younger spoken form differed as much from each other as Latin and Italian. The
grammatical terminations were different, and even such common words as "to
be," "I" and uyou" were different. The comparison drawn between usual
English and the stilted English that flowed from Johnson's pen was, therefore,
misleading because insufficient. The disagreement between the advocates of •
phonetic and those of "orthographic" spelling was doubtless one which it were
vain ever to hope to see changed into unanimity, as the first principles which each
party takes as the basis of its opinions are diametrically opposed. But if the final
vote of public opinion were to be given against the " orthographists," Mr.
Chamberlain could not but hope that Dr. Hepburn's system would be, of the many
competing phonetic systems, the one in favour of which the community would
decide. Dr. Hepburn's system has some strange inconsistencies (e. g. the
treatment of the letters *ch' and '],*) but at^east it aims at being a true
representation of the sounds that meet the ear. In Mr. Dickins's paper, on the
other hand, we are no sooner enlightened by the phonetic rule than we stumble
across the historic exceptions, and after being told shiyau and shiyou are
altogether irrationally divergent representatives of the one sound sho, we have
perforce to accommodate ourselves to omou and omowu as written equivalents of
the one sound omd. No ; logic compels us to adopt one consistent system, be it a
strictly phonetic one, or else the " orthographical " one which is advocated by Mr.
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Satow and his supporters, and which, leas ambitions than the proposal now before
the meeting, does not undertake to make a revolution in the speech of the Empire,
bnt only sets to itself the humbler, but more practicable, task of representing in
Boman letters the Japanese written language such as it was and is.
Mr. Bramsen said that, however much he should have liked to make a few
remarks on Mr. Dickins's paper, and on the subject of a uniform and general
system of transliteration, he was sorry to say he had come to the conclusion
that any labors in this direction would, at present, be entirely thrown away. In
his opinion it was hopeless to think of any such universal system, when we have
evidence before us that this learned society, which must be supposed to consist
of those who would take most interest in such matters, has not yet brought
itself to adopt a fixed system of transliteration in its* transactions. Not only do
the various contributors follow different systems of writing, but in some papers no
method at all is followed, and the same words on one page are written according
to some phonetic system, and on the next in conformity with the historical
(orthographic) system. The speaker thought it was high time that something
was done to ameliorate this deplorable state of affairs, and he therefore gave
notice that he intended at the next meeting to make the following proposal :
" That three members of the Council and three ordinary members of the Society
be chosen by this meeting to form a committee whose duty it shall be to consider
what measures can be taken to ensure some kind of uniformity in the transliteration
of Japanese words in the Society's Transactions; and that the result of their
deliberations, in the form of some rule, be placed before a General Meeting
for adoption.*'
Mr. Dallas said that, alike with Mr. Dickins, he felt very great diffidence
in putting forth an opinion in opposition to that held by scholars of such eminence
as Mr. Satow and Mr. Chamberlain, but it appeared to him that they allowed
it to be inferred that the orthodox mode of expressing Japanese words in Eana, —
which forms the basis of their Kana-transliteration system,— is generally known
to the people of Japan to somewhat the same extent as the accepted spelling
of English is known to the population of England. His own experience was that
the contrary was the case, and that only an extremely small percentage of the
well-educated class had any acquaintance with what Mr. Chamberlain had well
termed the "historical" mode of writing in Eana. Some years ago, when
preparing a paper for this Society during a residence in the interior, where the
loeal dialect very greatly mauled the pronunciation, his only mode of getting at
the pronunciation accepted in T6kiy6 or Eiydto was to ascertain how a character
was expressed in Eana; and he was supprised to find that out of a class of some
twenty young men of from eighteen to five and twenty years of age, most of whom
were tolerably good Chinese scholars, only two seemed to be at all certain of
the mode of spelling, and even these had constantly to refer to the dictionary.
He quite agreed with Mr. Chamberlain that in any attempt to romanize Japanese
the point to be kept in view was its practical utility to the Japanese rather than
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the convenience of foreigners unacquainted with the language, but he thought
that it should be made useful to the millions, whose intercourse is restricted
by the extreme difficulty of their present method of writing, rather than to the
limited number of highly educated men who have so thoroughly mastered the
present system as to be able to express themselves in it with facility. Few errors
are more common among foreigners than that of supposing that the majority
of Japanese are able to readily read and write. It must surely be in the every-day
experience of those members of the Society, who are not themselves, independent
ot such aid, that, if they ask an average Japanese to read a letter for them,
he does not read it as it is written, but merely renders the sense of it in his own
words, and if pressed for the actual words of the writer, he will have to confess that
he cannot give them. While the written and spoken languages differ as much as
they do*, it is no paradox, but a simple fact, to say that the ordinary Japanese
cannot write what he speaks, and cannot read what he writes 1 The great
advantage of romanization would be that it would allow the spoken language to be
expressed on paper, and thus bring letter-writing within the reach of millions
of the population who now never attempt it. A financier might safely predict that
were romanization of Japanese to be generally introduced into \he lower grade*
schools throughout the country ,*it would in a few years produce a very material
increase in the revenue of the Post Office. In discussing, then, the merits of
a Phonetic or Eana transliteration, it must be borne in mind that either system
would be equally new to the people at large, and Mr. Dickins's point cannot
be too strongly insisted on, that, the question for the Japanese is not one of reforma-
tion but one of creation. If this be granted, and overwhelming evidence of its truth ,
is within reach of every resident in Japan, the advantages that Mr. Dickins has so
ably urged of a phonetic, over any other system, historical or etymological, can
hardly be gainsaid. He (the speaker) would not occupy the time of the meeting
by entering into those minor details, in respect of .which he would like to suggest
modifications to Mr. Dickins's scheme, as such points would be more conveniently
discussed before the committee contemplated by the motion of which Mr. Bramsen
had just given notice.
Mr. Bramsen said :— Although before coming to this meeting I had made
up my mind not to join in any discussion, the temptation is too great, and I
cannot help saying that I share in Mr. Dallas's opinion, that the Japanese are not
well posted in the use of the Eana. I have made frequent experiments in this
direction, and one of them seems to me to be very striking. I have a highly-
educated and well-read friend, by name Shoda. I once asked him : how dp you
spell the first part of your name, Shiyau, Shiyou, Seu or Sefu? My friend
answered : I write it thus : — at the same time putting down on the paper one
Chinese character. But, I said, how do you write it in Kana ? To which he replied :
"1 do not know, and I do not care to know I " And this was the very point on
which the parallel drawn by Mr. Chamberlain with modern Greek did not hold
good. The Greeks do write in their alphabet, and cannot write in'any other way ;
vol. vm. 34
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( aw )
while the Japanese do not write in the Eana. The proposers of the new ortho-
graphical system thus actually require foreigners to do what the Japanese cannot
do themselves.
Mr. Ewing remarked that it was quite possible that the changes in the
pronunciation of a language to which Mr. Chamberlain referred were due to the
fact that the language was not spelt phonetically, in which case the objection to
phonetic spelling as requiring change from time to time would be invalid. It was
quite true, as .the President had observed, that no phonetic system could hope to
represent all the minute varieties of sound present in a language. Each symbol
must represent a group of very closely allied sounds rather than a single definite
sound, and within this range variation might occur. But once a language was
spelt phonetically, we should expect the subsequent variations of pronunciation to
be confined within those limits which determined the actual range of pnonetio
value possessed by any one symbol when the spelling was first fixed.
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( 267 )
NOTES ON THE POECELAIN INDUSTRY OF JAPAN.
By R. W. Atkinson, B. Sc. (Lond.)
[Read February 10, 1880.]
It was my intention to have made an extended series of analyses
of the clays used in the principal centres of the porcelain manufacture
in this country, but other work has so seriously interfered with this
investigation that the results hitherto obtained are merJly fragmentary,
and as there is no probability of my being able to continue the
examination of this subject, I have thought it better to publish such
analyses as have already been made, in the hope that they may be
found of some use to those who have time and opportunity to continue
the investigation. Most of the analyses were made by my assistants*
and by the students of the third and fourth years, in the laboratory
of the University #of Tokiyd. Some were made by myself, and I have
also, in other cases, confirmed the results obtained by others.
A year or two ago Professor H. Wurtz published a report upon the*
composition of the porcelain clays from Arita, which were exhibited in
the Japanese section of the Philadelphia Exhibition, and as this report
is not very accessible, I have thought it of sufficient interest to add the
analyses obtained by him, especially as they supplement those obtained
here.
It is a matter of some doubt whether there is a body of one definite
chemical composition existing in all porcelain clays. Messrs. Johnson
and Blake (Am. J. Sc.-Art. s. 2, xliii. 351) have established the
composition of a mineral which they found in many kinds of porcelain
clay, and have represented it by the formula
Ala03.2SiOa + 2H20?
which would correspond to 46.88 per cent of silica, 89.77 per cent of
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268 ATKINSON: THE POBCELAIN INDUSTRY OF JAPAN.
alumina, and 18.9 per cent of water. To the presence of this mineral
in a state of minute subdivision they attribute the plasticity of clays.
Dr. Percy, in the last edition of his work on " Metallurgy," Vol. I.,
p. 94, gives a similar composition to a white, soapy substance obtained
from Anglesea, and regards the following conclusions as established : —
I-. — Crystallized kaolinite is a definite compound.
11.— Many kaolins and other clays are identical with crystallized kaolinite
in composition.
III. — Crystallized kaolinite exists in clays which vary considerably in
external characters, and occur under different geological conditions,
as well as in localities remote from one another, e.g., Europe and
America. *
IV. — It is demonstrable that many clays consist of kaolinite intermixed
with free silica and other matter.
The result of Prof. Wurtz's analyses was to show that out of 8
specimens .of the material used at Arita, one only, that from Kudaru-
yama, contained less than* 74. 5 per cent of silica, and he therefore drew
the startling conclusion that the porcelain of Japan was not prepared
from porcelain clay at all. His words are : —
" From these analyses it will be seen that the egg-shell porcelain
ware is made without kaolin, being compounded, as to its body, solely
of petuntze-like, or petro-Biliceous minerals. The Chinese proverb that
* while the petuntze constitutes the flesh of porcelain, kaolin must form
its bones/ is, therefore, altogether inapplicable."
■ Petuntze is usually regarded as a felspathic rock, but what the*
Chinese mean by the term is said by Sir Henry de la JBeche (Catalogue
of Specimens of British Pottery and Porcelain in the Museum of the
Royal School of Mines, p. 9) to be involved in some difficulty. He says:
" Petun signifies a white paste, and the suffix tse is merely a diminutive
applied to the material when made into the usual form of small cakes or '
bricks. It appears, indeed, that several substances used in the
manufacture of porcelain, prepared in the form of white tablets, pass
under the , common name of petuntze ; but by D'Entrecolles the name
was restricted to the fusible ingredient of the paste, and, therefore, has
generally been considered to denote a substance resembling our Cornish
China stone, which is an aggregate of felspar, usually more or less
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ATKINSON : THE POBCELAIN INDUSTRY OF JAPAN.
decomposed, and quartz, commonly associated with a talcose mineral ;
in fact a disintegrated granitic rock resembling the pegmatite of certain
authors."
According to Wurtz, then, the "egg-shell porcelain is formed from
this decomposed felspathic rock alone, without admixture, as is usual in
other places, with any kaolin. Results agreeing generally with these
are given by Giimbel (Dingl. Polyt. J. ccxxvii. 500-502), who examined
specimens of clay from Arita, and compared the results with the
analysis of egg-shell porcelain made by Malaguti at S&vrGs. He
examined 6 specimens, only one of which was earthy, and agreed almost
exactly with the analysis given by Wurtz of the Kudaru-yama clay.
His conclusion is, however, that the egg-Bhell porcelain could be
produced by mixing 2 parts of the stone with 1 part of the earth.
These results are of some importance, but it remains to be seen
whether the conclusions are borne out by the examintftion of a large
number of specimens from other districts. In the analyses' given in this
note of clays from various porcelain- districts, several will be found
having a low percentage of silica and a correspondingly high one of
alumina. The specimen used for the body of the ware from Mino is as
high as any of the Arita clays, whilst the Banko clays occupy an
intermediate position between the petro- siliceous minerals and kaolin.
The clays obtained from Owari, Kdfu and Shigaraki contain from 54 to
59 per cent of silica, and 26 to 82 per cent of alumina, proportions which
bring them nearer to the true clays. Unfortunately, only one of the
kinds of clay used in the manufacture of the Eiyomidzu ware was
analyzed, although 5 kinds are there used. *For the body of the ware,
two kinds obtained near Kiyoto are mixed with one from Shigaraki, in
Omi, the composition of which is given.
In the preparation of the Awata ware three kinds of clay are
mixed in equal proportions tcf form the body of the ware, one from Eiy6to
and two from Omi. The two latter approach kaolin in composition,
whilst the former is a peturitze-like mineral. The Satsuma clays were
given to me by Mr. Satow, and were obtained by him at the time of his
visit described in his paper on " The Korean Potters of Satsuma."* The
first one, marked "Nara ash," is evidently only carbonate of lime,
although from the name one might expect a different composition. Two
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270 . ATKINSON : THE PORCELAIN INDUSTRY OF JAPAN.
of the remaining clays have a high percentage of silica, amounting to
78 and 77 per cent ; the others vary from 51.79 to 60.72 per cent. No.
6 is frequently described as "Kaseda sand," but'from the amount of
alumina, and from the large amount of alkalies it contains, it seems to
be mixed with a good deal of undecomposed felspar.
From the above analyses, fragmentary as they are, I think it will
be seen that the conclusions of Prof. Wurtz cannot be extended to all
Japanese porcelain. Further information, however, is much needed, and
I trust that the labours of the members of the recently established
geological survey of Japan may lead to results of great importance.
. I have thought it useful to append a table giving the composition of
the various ingredients used in the preparation of the colour employed
to decorated the porcelain, which are also the same as are used for the
production of cloisonne enamel (shippo yaki).
As a contribution to the history of pottery in this country, I venture
to add a translation of an inscription which appears on. a porcelain
memorial stone erected at Seto to Shunkei, the Father of Pottery, which
was given to me when on a visit,
INSCRIPTION ON THE TABLET ERECTED IN HONOUR OF
SHUNfEI, THE " FATHER OF POTTERY."
The "Father of Pottery" belonged to the Fujiwara family, and was
named Kagemasa, though usually known as Katd'Shirozayemon. His
artist-name was Shunkei, written in two different manners, and the
epithet of " Father of Pottery " was given to him after his death. He
was descended from Tachibana Tomosada, an inhabitant of Michikage
village in the township of Morowa, province of Yamato. Tomosada
begot Motoyasu, and Motoyasu begot the "Father of Pottery."
Motoyasu, for some offence or other, was banished to Matsut6 in Bizen.
His mother was the daughter of Michikage, an inhabitant of Fukakusa
in Yamashiro, who belonged to the Taira family. The "Father of
Pottery," while still a child, was fond of kneading clay and making
earthenware vessels, but always regretted that his skill was inferior to
that* of foreign countries (i.e., China), and he formed the intention of
going abroad to study. When her grew up he entered the service of the
Dainagon (councillor) Koga Michichika, and was created Shodaibu with
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ATKINSON : THE POBCELAIN INDUSTRY OF JAPAN. 271
the 5th rank. He eventually accompanied Michichika's second son, the
priest Ddgen, to China, in the 16th year of the period Eatei (1228).
He remained there studying during six years, and on his return landed
(lit* furled sails) at Kawajiri in Higo. Whilst on board he made three
small pots with earth which he had brought with him, which he presented
to Hdjd Tokiyori, the Shdgun's lieutenant, and. to Dogen. These were
afterward handed down in Japan as curious treasures. The " Father of
Pottery " was twenty-six years old when he returned, and at once paid
a visit to his father in his place of exile, where he stopped awhile and
made pots. He next visited his mother at Fukakusa, but after her
death, which took place shortly afterwards, he made experiments in
potting at Kiyoto and in the neighbouring provinces. He also made
experiments in the two departments of Chita and Aichi in this province
(i.e. Owari), but without success. At last he came to the village of
Seto, in Yamada department in this province. Here he saw to his
astonishment the earth called Sobokai. He said: "The situation
faees the south, while the hills are high, the water clear, and
the quality of the earth similar to what I brought back with
me" (from China). So he commenced to work in this place, and
during the rest of his life never moved elsewhere. Some say that the
grandmother of the " Father of Pottery " found this good earth in the
Amaike Cave (?) at Seto, and brought some of it home in the bosom of
her dress, whence it was called Sobokai (grandmother's bosom). Accord*
ing to another account the Sobokai was discovered by the " Father of
Pottery " in a dream, after he had prayed to the god Fukagawa of the
temple in Seto village. Seto village formerly belonged to Yamada
department, but now forms part of Kasugai department, and was
probably in ancient times a good place for potting. We learn from the
Ni-hon-ko-ki, Yen-gi-shiki, Wa-miyd-shd, Ch6-ya Gun-sai and other books
that in those periods the Court ordered pottery from this province, and
always from that department. The subsequent success of the " Father
of Pottery " was facilitated by the knowledge he possessed of what had
been done before his time. The site where the house of the '•' Father of
Pottery " stood is called Nakajima, and lies among the rice fields on the
eastern side of the Fukagawa temple- in the village of Seto. A single
eryptomeria planted there marks the spot. North of this again is a pltfce
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272 ATKINSON: THE PORCELAIN INDUSTRY OF JAPAN.
called Yen-cho-An. It is said that the " Father of Pottery " in his later
years entrusted the family affairs to his son* The " Father of Pottery ' '
fixed upon this place, and his wife upon the family plot of land, to build
houses to end their days in. The books afford no information as to the date
of the death of the " Father of Pottery." His tomb is called the " Mound
of the Fifth Eank." On the left of the village there is an old kiln of his .
called Mashiro. Nothing actually made or handled by him remains
there ; but it is said that a pair of lions used as weights for the blind at
the village temple were made by his hand, and one of those is lost.
Those inhabitants of the village who have to in their surnames are his
descendants. They have built a temple to his memory called Buyehiko
no yashiro (temple of the potter-hero), and also Kama no Kami (the kiln
god). There are two regular festivals on the 19th days of the 3rd and
8th months. In the 3rd month the dance of the wooden lion's mask is
exhibited, in the 8th there are horse-races. His son Td-go-rd, his
grandson U-shi-r6 and their descendants continued to exercise his
profession. It was said of old "the merits-of the nine services should
all be sung," and were spbken of as " the nine songs". The "Father of
Pottery " had one of those merits, and there is no reason why we should
not celebrate his merits in song, in order to encourage others and preserve
the art from decay. I therefore sing as follows.1
Then follows a copy of verses, the translation of which has not
been attempted, as it would, require an excessive amount of notes by
way of elucidation.
1Thifl is a reference to the following passage from the Shoo King (Legge's
Edition, vol. i., page 55). " Virtue is seen in the goodness of the government,
and the government is tested by its nourishing of the people. There are water,
fire, metal, wood, earth and grain — these must be duly regulated : there are the
rectification of the people's virtue, the conveniences of life, and the securing
abundant means of qustentation : these must be harmoniously attended to. When
the nine services thus indicated Have been orderly accomplished, let that
accomplishment be celebrated by songs. Caution the people with gentle words,
correct them with the majesty of law ; stimulate them with the songs on those
nine subjects." The application of earth to the use of man' by means of the
potter's art is one of the " nine services " which were to be celebrated with songs,
and the author of the inscription, proceeds to do this in the Chinese poem which
follows.
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ATKINSON : THE PORCELAIN INDUStBT OF JAPAN.
278
Thick body.
Egg-shell porcelain
Shira-kawa
•
• •
•
CO t*» GO CO Oi U3 00
• co 3*»*co i- 53 t* o
• t- OD CO CN © OS «
loo t^ * * *i-i
r •
'•
•hco^od -* a» »o
CO
eo
CO
8
S
w
w
<1
Seiji-tsachi.
Kudaru-yama.
Indo tsuohi (hard grains) .
Uya-kusuri
Sakaime-tsuchi .
Shiro-tsuchi
Tauji-tsuchi
09 00*0*0 ^CO G>
HN(OH eo
t*»H 00 C*
SCO CO 00
i> oi od r4 .• f-i
t*3 - »
3
£SS8g 83 . . .
|> oj ^ ^ © rt CO »H • • ji
CO 00^ »H H ' ! I4*
OeOCOO«0O»C4HH
SSSSSSSSS : :
5 o> *o co co a* op co
)G0O>^AtOOH •
> rH OOrHp^JlOO • |J
oo«4o»co o>**i-i
iH 00OSCO 0>^Ud .
kOiHCOCO jjOt^W h
CNOOtO *iH ""**
I
1JJIJ!
.3
o g
PhSodq
08
"§
vol. nn.
85
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274
ATKINSON: THE POBCELAIN INDUSTRY OF JAPAN.
PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF THE MATERIALS USED IN PREPARING
THE COLOUES FOR DECORATING PORCELAIN.
r
i
g
1
t
o-
00
i
1
1
<
2.
S
t
:
3
i
I
>
i
f
Water •.
.23,
98.89
•
2.31
Vii
2.00
11.60
86.42
49.05
47.84
53.65
69.67
Carbonic acid
Silica
50.52
Oxide of lead
Oxide of copper
Oxide of iron
Oxide, of aluminium ....
Oxide of cobalt
Oxide of manganese ....
Lime •
Potassa
Soda
88.57
1.49
36.91
t .50
".62
11.85
.65
31.19
8.43
.62
".63
11.19
.56
29.63
2.50
.38
".96
11.04
1.62
4.50
7.06
% . . .
18.32
.61
32.05
.45
3.93
.62
12.22
.18
CLAYS FROM VARIOUS LOCALITIES.
CLAYS PBOM TAKAYAMA
AY^
IN MIKO.
*
w
f
s
BANXO CLAYB
S"
o
si
a.
n
If
Moisture
Combined water
Silica
Alumina
Ferric oxide ..
Lime
Magnesia
Potash
Soda
Carbonic acid..
1.22
2.83
81.86
11.84
.06
.59
' .26
.32
1.01
.56
.63
71.99
15.67
2.01
1.22
.65
4.20
2.99
1.06
70.84
17.75
.46
.98
.33
3.89
3.95
4.13
6.20
64.65
22.56
1.46
.22
".03
.30
60.17
23.28
5.08
1.20
[6.30
54.65
32.35
".90
.37
3.27
[8.09
59.09
26.11
.53#
2.12
.45
.47
"3.16
7.00
56.87
28.56
.98
.69
.47
2.08
.06
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ATKINSON: THE POBCELAIN INDTJ9TRY OF JAPAN. 275
SATSUMA CLAYS.
I
I
Mui8ture
Combined water.
Silica
Alumina
Ferric oxide......
Lime
Magnesia
Potash
Soda
Carbonic acid . . .
2.82
.51
8.405
. 4.785
3.300
42.765
2.415
.74
.215
34.145
1.67
11.97
60.72
22.68
" .48
.65
1.02
.82
.57
2.33
73.13
20.16
".56
.70
1.32
1.45
.70
10.85
59.42
27.90
".18
.26
.61
1.01
.46
1.18
77.15
13.50
.94
.83
.62
3.34
1.85
1.93
11.74
51.79
30.91
1.13
.49
1.17
.65
.34
1.51
7.09
60.30
27.62
• • * •
1.02
'.46
.70
1.19
100.100
100.01
100.25
100.88 99.84
100.15
99.89
PROPORTIONS •OF THE INGREDIENTS IN THE VARIOUS COLOURS
USED IN DECORATING PORCELAIN AND •• SHEPP6-YAKI »
(CLOISONNE ENAMELS).
W
w
t
Shira tama
Td-no-tsuchi
Hino-woka Seki
Tdgnnjd (ultramarine) <
Bengara ....
Ususe
Eoise
Tdshirome a
Konjd
Murasaki . .
50
7
7
5(V
7
7
50
10
10
4 or 5
50.
11
8 Toshirome is metallic antimony
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276 ATKINSON: THE PORCELAIN INDUSTRY OF JAPAN.
AWATA WAKE.— KH6TO.
!
r
r
S-5*
It
•
8-
t
i
v|
o
5ZJ
t—
. w
: ?
,
• •
•
: B
Moisture
1.58
4.13
J 9.18
56.03
30.82
.82
.84
.40
10.28
Combined water
5.Q2
71.40
19.42
.38
.38
.20
7.55
52.13
27.98
1.85
.90
.42
Silica .,...'
50.54
Alumina •
16.14
Ferric oxide
.86
Lime
10.18
Magnesia \
.78
Potash
l.«0
.91
3.09
.64
1.55
Soda *
Carbonic acid ........ s
5.61
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( 277 )
A SHORT MEMOIR FROM THE SEVENTEENTH
CENTURY.
(" MISTRESS AN'S NARRATIVE.1')
By Basil Hall Chamberlain.
[Read March 9th, 1880.]
[The following is a translation from a small volume containing the
memoirs of two women named respectively An and Kiku, which came
into the present writer's hands at a time when he was preparing a paper
for this Society on the Mediaeval Colloquial Dialect of the Comedies.1
Dating, as the document does, but a couple of centuries, back, it was too
recent to be made use of for the above-mentioned philological purpose;
but one of the stories, at least, seems worthy of perusal for its own sake,
notwithstanding its sketchiness and absence of all pretensions to literary,
skill. For the student of Japanese, who has flung down in disgust the
dry, colourless, and withal stilted productions which in this* country
are dignified with the name of history, seems to see light again when the
gossipping pen of some ol<jl beldame like Mistress An .brings before his
eyes the actualities of the life of those old and by no means pleasant days,
and shows him that the people, who in the pages of the " Guwai-shi "
or the " Mikaha Fuu-do-ki " would be made to mouth fine sentiments
in antithetical Chinese phrases, were* really live men and women like
those we now meet and speak to in the Yedo streets. Care has been
taken to reproduce the original with as strict fidelity as the divergence
between the English and Japanese idioms will allow, and, at the close,
a page of the Japanese text has been printed for the benefit of those
^See " Transactions ol the Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. vi.', pt. 8.
278 CHAMBERLAIN I A SHORT MEMOIR FROM THE XVIITH CENTURY.
who may be interested in Japanese dialects. Truly, in speech as in other
matters, the improvement daring the last two and a half centuries of
peace has been wonderful.]
The children having {gathered round Mistress Aii with cries of
" Oh ! do tell us about the olden times, " she commenced as follows : —
"My father, Yamada Kiyoreki, was a retainer of my %r& Ishida,
Assistant Vice-President of the Board of Rites, and lived at Hikone in
the province of Afumi ; and afterwards, when my l<?rd had raised the
standard of revolt, was shut up in the castle of Ohogaki in the province
of Mino.* He and all the rest <jf us, — there we were shut up'together ;
and a very curious circumstance I remember in connection with it.
Every night just about twelve o'clock there came the voices of, I should
say, some thirty people, men and women. Who they were, wo knew
not ; but we could hear them shouting out, * General Tanaka ! hoy !
General Tanaka ! ugh ! ugh 1 '—the same, night after night. Gracious
me ! how it made you shudder ! After that, His HigHhess Iheyasu sent a
large force to lay siege to the castle, and we had fighting day and night,
and Tanaka was the name of the besieging general.
" When our cannon8 were to be fired, notice was sent round to all
within the precincts of the castle, the reason being that the report of the
cannon terrified every one by shaking the turrets, and seeming almost to
make. the ground split in two, so that the less courageous, — such as the
women, — would faint right off; and for that reason notice was given
8 The*" revolt " here alluded to is the war which ensued on the death of Hide-
yoshi in A. d. 1598. ' Practically master of Japan, Hideyoshi left behind him but
a son six years old to take his place, — a place coveted by the most ambitious of
his generals, Iheyasu. The consequende was a war between the latter and the
partisans of the Hideyoshi succession, in which these were defeated and destroyed.
After the battle of Seki-ga-hara, in the autumn of 1600, which decided the fate of
Japan for 258 years by • giving it over for that period to the sway of Iheyasu and
his successors the Tokugaha Shiyauguils, the castle of Ohogaki was taken, my lord
Ishida captured by Tanaka Toshimasa, the enemy's general mentioned in. the text,
and decapitated by order of the victor. Writing under the administration of the
latter'6 descendants, all wars waged against him were of course styled ".rebellions,"
even by those whose friends had been engaged on the losing side.
8 Fire-arms had been introduced into the country in the middle of the sixteenth
century.
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chambeblain: a shobt memoib fbom THE XVHTH CENTUBY. 279
beforehand. So when notice htid been given and 'the flash had come,
jou felt as if waiting for a clap of thunder to follow ; and in the early
times we all felt as if we should die, and as if there were nothing but fear
and horror left. But by and by we saw it yaA all nothing, and we and
mother and the other women and girls took to busying ourselves casting
ballets in Jhe look-out turret. And then, too, our soldiers would bring
to us in the turret the heads* they had taken, and make us label them
for reference. They would also often ask us to blacken the teeth with
powder, the reason being, you see, that in old days ( tooth-powder heads '
were those of meji of rank, and therefore more prized, so that a soldier
would bring yoii a plain head and ask you to do him the good -turn of
giving the teeth a rub of powder. We weren't a bit afraid of the heads,
and used to sleep in the midst of the nasty smell of blood that came
from them. 4
" One day, after a cannonade from the besiegers which threatened
I speedy end to the castle's existence and threw all the people* within
the castle gates into confusion, one of our attendants came with the
news that the enemy had disappeared without leaving a trace behind
them : ' No need for alarm,' said he ; ' quiet yourselves, quiet yourselves P
But the words were scarcely out of his mouth when a cannon-ball came
and struck my younger brother, a boy of fourteen, knocking him
down and killing him on the spot. Oh ! it was a cruel sight. Indeed
it was !
%
4 The tooth-powder here referred to is the o-haguro still#used by married
women for the purpose of blacking their teeth. In the Middle Ages and down to
the time of the revolution, the only persons of the male sex who were permitted
by custom to follow the practice were the members of the Imperial family and the
court nobles, and it is therefore curious to find this reference to it. At the same
time, the ignorance of the soldiery, mixed with a vague prejudice in favour of
blackened teeth as significative of high birth, must be borne in mind ; and at least
one mediaeval instance of a warrior blacking his teeth may be quoted from the
■* Sei-suwi-ki," where we read that the youthful Atsumori was found by his slayer,
Eumagaya Nawozarie, to have his face powdered and his teeth blackened. After a
battle^ all the heads that had been won were taken to the commanding general for
inspection, and rewards were distributed according to the rank of the persons to
whom they had belonged. t Afterwards the heads of the rank and file were interred,
while those of men of higher birth were returned to their families.
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280 chamberlain: a bhobt memoib from the xviith centubt. %
" That same day there came fou father to the gate under hii
charge a letter tied to an arrow, which said : ( As you once had the
.honour to be my lord Iheyasu's writing-master, you shall be sparel
if desirous of making your escape * from the castle. Fly in what-
ever direction you please. You shall not be molested by the way.
The troops have orders to that effect.' Well,6 the assault being
expected* in the middle of the following day, everybody's spirits hal '
forsaken them, and we, too, were looking forward with trembling to the
next day as to that of our final end, 6 when father stole up into the
look-out turret, and whispered to us to come this way. So he led out
mother and us, and, making us climb a ladder placed against the wall
on the northern .rampart, let us down on the other side by means' of a
rope, after which we crossed the moat in a tub. Our party consisted of
my two parents, myself and four attendants, our other retainers having
been left behind. We were about half a mile from the castle, making in
a northerly direction, when mother was suddenly seized with the paine
of childbirth, and was delivered of a little girl. One of the retainers
took and washed it in water from a rice-field, and then picked it up and
wrapped it in his skirt, while mother was taken by father bn his back,
and we fled in the direction of the moor of Awono. Oh ! what a
•frightful time' it was I Yes, this was what the olden times were like.
Mercy on us ! mercy on us."
Then the children asked her again to tell them about Hikone,
and she said:7
"My fathef had an estate worth three hundred kokuB of rice per
annum ; but at that time there was so much fighting that everything
was difficult to get. . Of course each person had something laid by in
case of necessity, but water broth9 was our usual food morning and
6 From here to the end of the paragraph is the passage of which the original
text is given at the end of this paper.
• On such occasions, many even of the women preferred death at their own
hands to capture by the enemy.
7 The order of time is here reversed, and the old lady is referring to a period
previous to the disastrous war of a. p. 1600.
8 One koku=5.1S bushels.
9Zau-auwi j&yfcy lit. "mixed water," a thin infusion of such greens, etc.,
as might' have remained over from a previous meal.
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chamberlain: A SHORT memoir from the xvhth century. 281
evening. Sometimes my older brother would go out on the mountains
with his gun. On those mornings rice and greens would be cooke£,
for him to take the remains with him to eat in the middle of the day.
On those days rice and greens would be given to us, too, and we used
to eat them. So we were always trying to persuade my brother ; and if
he did promise to go out shooting, we were quite beside ourselves with
joy. Clothes, too, we were so destitute of that when I was thirteen
years old, I had nothing but one thin blue10 hand-made frock11 -and, as
I wore that one frock till I was seventeen, my shins showed out below
in the most horrible manner. Oh ! how I used to wish for a frock that
would at least hide my shins ! Such were the inconveniences of every
kind to which one was put in the olden times. . No one over dreamt,
either, of such a thing as eating rice in the middle of the day, neither did
night time bring its supper with it. So what shall I say of the young
folks nowadays, and the fancies they take and the money they spend on
dress,- and their whims about all sorts of delicacies in the matter of
food r
Thus . would she reprove them by reference to the Hikone days,
so that they ended by nicknaming her " Granny Hikone." This is the
origin of the slang expression " Hikone," used to designate the lessons
for the present day drawn by aged people from the doings of former
times, — an expression 'which is, therefore, not understood by the#natives
of other provinces, -as it is only a local phrase of ours.
[A colophon, which we may follow a second colophon dated 1780 M
in ascribing to a nephew of Mistress Ail, who is mentioned therein under
the name of Yamada Eisuke, tells us how the little memoir which here
ends came to be written down. After mentioning that the family retired
to the province of Tosa, and that Mistress An died during the period
styled Kuwan-buii (A. D. 1661-1678) at over eighty years of age, the
writer goes on to say :
" At that time I, who was then eight or nine years old, had often
wThis seems, by reference to a work on dress entitled " Soku-tai Shiyau-zoku
^ " (JllSffeJllH*)' to be tlie meanm8 intended to be conveyed by the original
word hana-zome. ♦ . •
uKata-bira.
u The printed edition only appeared in 1837.
vol. vra. 36
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282 CHAMBERLAIN : A SHORT MEMOIR FROM THE XYIITH CENTURY.
heard her relate the foregoing narrative. Ah I how. truly has it been
said that . ' time flies like an arrow.' In the period styled Shiyau-toku
(A. D. 1711-1716), when I gathered my own grandchildren round me,
and told them the story, and drew from the example of bygone days
lessons against our modern extravagance, the sly rogues turned up their
noses, saying : ' Well, grandpapa, if Mistress An was Granny Hikone,
you are old Daddy Hikone ! What are you preaching about ? Eacn
time must have its own customs.' At which- observations I of course
felt hurt, but then remembered the text : ' Respect your juniors.' u
Yes, our juniors. What will they be like, I wonder ?' My grandchildren,
I suppose, will have grandchildren to find fault with them. So I have
just put this down as best I could, and, for the rest, I have nothing
more to say than — my prayers."]
DISCUSSIO&.
• The President, in thanking Mr. Chamberlain for his interesting communica-
tion, said that it was evident that no small part of the charm of the paper was due
to the felicity of Mr. Chamberlain's translation.
Mr. Blanchet asked how the practice of blacking the teeth (referred to in the
paper) originated.
Mr. Chamberlain said he did not remember with precision the reasons given
for the practice, bat that details were to be found in Mitford's " Tales of old Japan.".
Dr. Faulds observed :— The fact brought out by Mr. •Chamberlain that the
custom of blacking teeth, now apparently confined to married women in Japan,
was once common to men of the higher ranks also, is quite interesting. There
seems to be an exceedingly common tendency, not yet specially studied, in
women to manifest such "survivals" of vanishing oustoms. Many familiar
examples readily occur to one, such as the custom of wearing ear-rings, necklaces,
bracelets, flowing robes,* etc., of western ladies. A more striking example is the
long hair parted in the middle which is still found amongst the males of many
primitive peoples, such as some of the races of North America, the Lepchas in
Asia, etc., but which exists only amongst women in more advanced races. That
the blacking of teeth in Japan was as purely ornamental in its purport as the
blackening of our own boots is rendered somewhat probable, I think, by the wide
prevalence of the custom of teeth-ornamenting in other lands. The people
of Borneo bore their teeth, and insert brass pins into them. Various tribeB
u " Confucian Analects," bk. ix., chap. 22.
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( 288 )
chip, grind, or file them down, however perfect or regular they may be, into
shapes differing according to the customs of each tribe. It is often said in
Japan that married women now blacken their teeth to preserve them, but in
Sumatra the hard protecting enamel is first removed, simply that the rou^h
surface may better absorb the black colouring matter. In such a case the
process can only be injurious to the teeth, and the custom can only be explained as
one of ornamentation. •
The President said he had always been under the impression that, the
Japanese women blacked their teeth and shaved their .eyebrows after marriage, as
a sign that they no longer wished to make themselves attractive to the other sex.
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f\rn &/ iooi
( 285 )
SUGGESTIONS FOE A JAPANESE RENDEEING OP
THE PSALMS.
By Basil Hall Chamberlain.
[Bead April 13, 1880.]
As the usage, if not the positive rules, of the Asiatic Society
exclude all proselytizing efforts from the scope of its labours, it may be
well, in explanation of the title of this paper, to state the object with
which it has been written, in order that neither to the Society nor to the
author need be attributed the design of encroaching on a field which the
various missionary societies rightfully hold as their own. It is, of
course, mainly to the missionaries that we look for translations of the
Bible into foreign tongues ; and by them a portion of the peculiarly
arduous task of making such translations into the language of Japan has
already been accomplished. But the Bible may be considered from
many points of view apart from the strictly religious ; and most foreigners
and many educated Japanese will be ready to admit that, as the
European student of Chinese or Japanese should first betake himself to
the Confucian and Mencian books if he does not wish to be stopped at
every stage of his later enquiries, so must every Japanese desirous of
obtaining any adequate notion of the intellectual soil of Europe, and
more especially of England and the other English-speaking countries,
begin by finding out what has been written in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Bo great has been their influence that, to say nothing of thoughts
and feelings, they have moulded the very language, — the familiarity of
all classes with them having introduced the use of innumerable phrases,
similes and allusions, whose recurrence will render almost every book
and conversation more or less a mystery to him who is a stranger to the
Old and New Testaments. It must, therefore, apart from all prosely-
voi*. ?in. 87
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A JAPANESE RENDERING OF SOME PSALMS.
tism, be the earnest desire of every one who interests himself in the
progress, and, so to speak, the Europeanization of this country, that its
inhabitants should possess adequate translations of those books, and no
place should be better fitted than the Hall of the Asiatic Society for a
calm discussion of the aptest method to be pursued in the making of
such translations.
I say discussion ; for discussion, unfortunately, is forced upon us
here, where we have to deal with a language which has neither from its
origin been cast in a Bible form like the tongues of Modern Europe, nor
is yet a sheet of blank paper like the dialects of barbarous tribes. There
are difficulties, — almost impossibilities, — on every side, and our choice lies
between evils. I must, therefore, be excused if, instead of going straight
to the point and simply laying before the Society the versions which I
have attempted of a few of the Psalms (one of the books of the Bible of
which no Japanese rendering has as yet been published), I enter into a
somewhat lengthy consideration of the conditions which must determine
the translator's work. It is only by fully appreciating these conditions
that persons can be qualified to pronounce on the merits of any par-
ticular system.
It should, then, be kept in mind that the single word " Japanese "
serves to designate three different languages having, indeed, a common
groundwork and historical connection, but nevertheless far more distinct
from each other in grammar and especially in vocabulary than many
dialects which in Europe are classed as separate tongues. These are
Classical Japanese, Sinico- Japanese and Colloquial Japanese. Of these,
again, each has its minor subdivisions, as is but natural in the case of
languages spoken or written over large tracts of space and time. In
particular, it is necessary to distinguish in Classical Japanese between the
Archaic Dialect and the Classical Dialect Proper. The Archaic Dialect
is that in which are preserved to us the legends of the Ko-zhi-ki, the
litanies of the Norito and the poems of the Man-yefushifu, all dating
from or before the eighth century of our era. Its place might be
compared to that of Homeric Greek.
In the Classical Dialect Proper was written during the tenth,
eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries the great mass of the
standard literature of the country. It differs from the Archaic Dialect
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chambeblain: a Japanese bendebing of some psalms. 287
chiefly in the dropping of old words and forms, in the systematizing of
the grammar under certain inflexible rules, in its polish and its loss of
strength. It is, as it were, the Attic speech of Japan.
For the next language in the enumeration, — Sinico-Japanese, — we
have no parallel in Greece nor, indeed, in Europe ; — not even in our
English speech, modified though it be by the introduction of the French
element. The Chinese words here drive the native vocabulary fairly out
of the field, and, in so doing, cause profound changes in the grammar,
destroying almost every vestige of the ancient forms. Most modern
documents, newspaper articles, letters, etc., are composed in this style,
which to a person conversant only with the other two would be com-
pletely unintelligible.
Lastly, Colloquial Japanese, which, to continue the comparison
with Greek, might be called the Romaic of this country, is a hybrid
dialect, the residue of what has gone before it. It has never been fixed,
and is in the present day changing more and more under the influence
of English and of new ideas. .
The question now is : Which of these divergent kinds of Japanese
is to be chosen as the medium for Biblical translations ? The Colloquial
Dialect is at once excluded by its vulgarity and its wants of any stand-
ard ; and that this is not a personal prejudice, but a recognized truth,
is shown by the fact that no writer, whether native layman or foreign
missionary, has ever attempted to use it in any serious composition.
Sinico-Japanese must be excluded for another reason, — that of useless
difficulty unaccompanied by any counterbalancing advantage. Remains
the Classical Language in its two branches. The aim of the translations
hitherto made from Genesis and from the New Testament has been to
adopt the Classical Dialect Proper ; and its claims, as the medium generally
accepted by the Japanese reading public, are undoubtedly superior to
those of the two dialects previously mentioned. At the same time, we
must not disguise to ourselves two facts : one, that it is impossible
to make even an approximation to literalness without perpetually
violating every rule of grammar and of style; and the other, that
this dialect, always difficult of comprehension to the less educated
classes, becomes well-nigh unintelligible to them when these rules are
thus violated ; that is to say, when exactitude is approached. To be
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chamberlain: a Japanese rendering of some psalms.
at once elegant, intelligible and -exact is, therefore, out of the question.
It is even out of the question to be at once exact and intelligible ; and,
for the present at least, the most practical plan would seem to be to
print two renderings, — one a Classical paraphrase, which in the case
of the poetical books should, if possible, be in a versified form in
order the better to suit the native taste, the other a strictly literal
version, which would receive its explanation from the paraphrase and,
conversely, determine the precise sense of the latter. In the literal
version, as need scarcely be stated, no attempt whatever should be
made to conform to the usual rules of Japanese composition.1
With regard to the versified paraphrase here recommended for the
poetical books, there unfortunately comes in a consideration drawn from
the literary history of the country, — one which, though it might perhaps
not prove insurmountable to a native of genius, seems to me to bar the
way against all attempts by a foreigner at making his versions in the
more generally comprehensible style of the Classical Dialect Proper, and
to refer him to the Archaic Tongue as his vehicle of expression. This
consideration is grounded on the style of poetry hitherto written in the
Classical Dialect Proper. Consisting, as it does, almost entirely of what
are termed mizhika-uta, i. e. " Short Stanzas " of but one- and -thirty
syllables each, there is no such thing as an extended poetical phrase, —
no breadth or sweep to be found in it, such as is indispensable to the
rendering of any foreign poetry, even of the Psalms, although the
sentences in the latter do not run to any great length. There is, there-
fore, no standard to imitate ; and to write without a standard in a
dead or conventional tongue is impossible, — in Japan more absolutely
impossible than could be well imagined in the West, as the native taste
requires of a modern writer that he shall be able to quote chapter and
verse for every word, every phrase and every term that he may make use
of. We are, therefore, driven back to the oldest form of the language,
1k considerable future in Japan would seem to be reserved for the so-called
chiyoku-yaku or " literal translation " style, which is already in use in some of the
schools, and is peculiarly adapted to the wants of the native mind. Its barbarism
is amply compensated by its practical utility ; for, as in the recognized case of
Chinese, so in the case of English, it is but labour lost to attempt to confine the
freer movements of the foreign vehicle of expression within the stiff and, at the
same time, complicated rules of Japanese construction.
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chambeelain: a Japanese rendering of some psalms. 289
and here at last we find all the necessary conditions fulfilled. In the
Man-yefu~skifu are hundreds of compositions, and in the Ko-zhi-ki not a
few, of lengths nearly averaging that of most of the Psalms, by various
poets on the most various subjects, and giving us a complete vocabulary
and poetical frame-work, — a frame-work and a vocabulary which,
although undoubtedly antiquated, have yet been adopted as the only
efficient instrument their language has to offer by all the modern
Japanese poets whose works are worthy of perusal.'
As already stated, there are grave objections to every possible
method of translation. Difficulty of comprehension is the objection
which, in conversation with private friends, has been made to the style
of paraphrase here advocated. Difficulty and incomprehensibility are,
however, two very different things. To an uneducated Japanese or to
one who, although otherwise cultured, is a total stranger to all Jewish
history and ideas, any version of the Psalms will probably be almost as
mysterious as the original Hebrew text. Some previous knowledge and
some viva voce explanations must always be taken for granted ; and
with them, and with the mutual check of paraphrase and literal prose
version, the Archaic poetical expressions, however perplexing to a
foreigner, should offer no special difficulty to the native student.
For the sake of facilitating the perusal of the accompanying ver-
sified renderings by any member of this Society who may not have
devoted special attention to the Archaic Dialect, I have explained the
chief difficulties in English foot-notes, while' there have also been added
in Japanese a very small number of notes and headings which seemed
indispensable to an appreciation by a native reader of the general
signification of each Psalm. The Psalms selected are the 1st, 19th,
28rd, 100th, 118th, 114th, 115th, 128rd, 124th, 127th, 128th and
188rd. No claim to merit can be made for the actual versions here
given, whether versified or literal ; for, having been perforce moulded, not
on the original, but on the English text, they are but the translations
of translations. Such precautions as were feasible have been taken.
The poetical renderings, most of which were originally made from the
English Prayer- Book version, have all been revised by comparison with
*e. g. Mabuchi, Motowori, Chikage, Tachibana no Moribe, Takabatake Shikibu,
Taohibana no Toseko.
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chambeblain: a Japanese rendering of some psalms.
de Wette's " Commentar ueber die Psalmen " and an English edition of
Delitzsch's " Biblical Commentary on the Psalms," while the literal
renderings scrupulously follow those given in the latter work. Still the
dangers of double-filtered translation are too obvious to need insisting
on ; and when it is the case of a Semitic composition which is rendered
first into an Aryan and thence into a Turanian tongue, we have the
danger in its extremest form. A good knowledge of Hebrew, besides
other special studies, is the indispensable prerequisite of a translator.
All, therefore, that is here intended is, to indicate a method and illustrate
it by a few examples.
SAN-BI NO UTA NO DAI ICHI. (Ps. 1.)
Yoshi-Ashi-Bito no Hate
Arachi-wo ga
Saga-mono ga
Utsutahe ni
Shiki-maseru
5Akarahiku
Nuba-tama no
Sachihahi ya
Tsuga no ki no
Ha ha shi mo
10 Mi ha shi mo
Uruhashiku
Yatsuko-ra ha
Aki-kaze no
Momiji-ba to
^Kaku bakari
Oho mi toga
Uma-bito no
Horobi-keii
Iyoyo
no Tagafu wo Yomeru Uta :
Sakashira tohazu
Ihe ni i-tatade
Ama tsu Sumera no
Oho mi koto-nori
Hiru shi mo manebi
Yo-narabe omofu
Kaha-bi.ni tatasu
Iya tsugi-tsugi ni
Toha ni kare sede
Musubanu aki naku
Nihohi-tsutsu aru ni
Kaku narazu koso
I-fuki-chirasu
Use ni use-kere
Ama tsu Sumera ga
Ye-sake-matsurade
Tomo ni ye-irade
Yoki hito koso ha
sakayedo.
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CHAMBBELAIN : A JAPANESE BKNDBKING OF SOME PSALMS. 291
l * *Arathi-wo (ffc $|) and Saga-mono (j§ ^?)» "bad and violent men."
Oa was originally used to denote the Genitive relation, while no constantly indicated
what we should call the Nominative. In later times this usage was reversed,
tea gat " my," " our," alone retaining the ancient force of ga. I here and constantly
Expletive. 3 Ama tsu Sumera (3^ ^ or Jt ^ ; according to the Simoo- Jap. pro-
nunciation Ten-Tei or better Shiyau-Tei), lit. " Monarch of Heaven" or "Supreme
Monarch," the nearest equivalent for the word " God." Kami (jj/f)> which some
prefer, simply means " ancestral spirit," and has the additional disadvantage of
being generally understood as a Plural. Alternating with Ama Uu Sumera for
" God," Oho-Kimi, Ama tm Oho-Kimi, A ga Oho-Kimi, etc., have been employed
for " the Lord," " our Lord " in the versified rendering. In the prose version, the
Hebrew term «• Jehovah *' has been retained for the latter. iShiki-maseru oho mi
koto-nori, " the decree which He has promulgated.* The Honorific masu, now
used indiscriminately, was anciently applied only to Divine and Imperial person-
ages. 5 Akarahiku, pillow- word for hiru. Manebi1*rch.loimanabi. *Nuba-tamano,
p.-w. for i/o. Yo-narabe, " every night." 7 Sachihahi, arch, for saihahi. Pi, arch,
for be, "side." Tatasu, the Causat. form of tatsu, used merely for ele-
gance. 8 Tsuga no ki no, p.-w. for tmgi-t&ugi, but here to be taken in its proper sense
of " like the Uuga tree," no standing for no gotoku. hja, arch, for iyo-iyo. 9 This
line has but four syllables. Such irregularities as the use of lines of four, six and
eight syllables are among the usual ornaments anciently employed to relieve the
monotony of the five-seven metre. The second ha (wa) is the Separative Particle.
Toha ni, " for ever." Kare sedey arch, for karede. UNihofu in the arch, sense of
"bright-coloured," "flourishing." li Momiji-ba to, "like the autumn-leaves"
(" autumn-leaves " substituted for " chaff "). 17 Uma-bito, " the righteous." l&Ken,
here Conclusive, not Attributive. M Iyoyo, arch, for iyo-iyo.
Onazhiku Chiyoku-Yaxu.
Fu-shin-zhiii (/£ ^ A) no kuwan-gen (£J *§*) in ayumazu, sau
shite tsumiudo no michi ni tatazu, Ban shite giyakn-zhin no tan ($£) ni
za sezu, kakerite kare no tanoshimi ha Yehoba no nori ni oite ari, san
shite kare ga chin-ya Kare* no nori wo kaiigahern tokoro no hito ha
saihahi nari. San shite kare ha ka-riu no katahara ni uwerare, sore no
zhi-setsn ni oite sore no mi wo shiyanzhi (£{? & ), san shite sore no
ha ha karezaru tokoro no zhiyu-moku (ffi /fc) no gotoku ari ; shikau shite
kare ga nasn tokoro no ono-ono no mono woba kare ga shi-togu.
•Shiyau-Tei wo sasu.
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chamberlain: a Japanese rendering of some psalms.
Fn-shin-zhin ha kaku narazu. Eaherite kare-ra ha kaze no fuki-
harafu tokoro no mugi-gara no gotoku ari. Yuwe ni fu-shin-zhin ha
sai-dan nioite tatsu atahazu, sau shite tsumiiido ha zen-nin no kuwai-
shia (ff |J|) ni tatsu atahazu; ikan to nareba Yehoba ha zeii-niii
no michi wo shirub; kaherite fu-shm-zhin no michi ha metsu-bau
(»taw.
bShiru ha sunahachi yomi shi-tamafu no i nari.
DAI ZHIFU KU. *(Ps. 19.)
Ama tsu Sumera no Hi wo Mote Tsuchi wo Terashi Mi Nori Mote
Hito no Kokoro wo Terashi-Tamafu wo Mede-Tatahete Yomeru Uta •
Koto-tohi ha sede
Ame ni nori ari
Sora ni kowe ari
Hiru mo ahi-tsuge
Yoru mo katar'ahi
I-tsukusu kihami
I-hatsuru made ni
Ama tsu Eimi ga Mi idzu wo tatahe
Mi te-buri wo Shimeshi-matsuru ha
Hi wo yadosu beshi to
Ama tsu Sumera no
Futo mi araka yu
Tsuma ni ahan to
Eado idzuru goto
Wa ha makeme ya to
Kihohi-afu goto
Nobori-ide-tachi
Nishi no umi made
Terasu hi-kage no
Hito no goto
Hisa-kata no
Wataru hi no
Akane-sasu
5Nuba-tama no
Uma no tsume
Funa no he no
10Kumo no'he ni
Kake-maku mo
Tsukurashishi
Waka-kusa no
Mukogane no
15Mokoro-wo ni
Masura-wo no
Toho-yama yo
Kuma ochizu
Ura-ura to
•Both translations of this Psalm have been made, not from Delitzch, but from
the English Prayer-Book.
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CHAM BXBLAXN : A JAPANESE BEH&EBHK» OF SOME PBALM8.
298
^Kushi-kage wo
Shika mi idzu
Oho-Kimi ga
Morn tami no
A ga Kimi ga
^Kiku tami no
Ma-gokoro wo
Omi ga me mo
Kegare sezu
Tokoshihe ni
^Hiki-masern
Natsu-mushi no
Tsuyn yori mo
Yo no hito no
Ku-gane yu mo
^Mube ehi koso
Somukazuba
Ono ga ozo
Iha-buchi ni
Oho-sora ni
*°Kiyome-maBhi
Kuchi wo mote
Eokoro mote
Ynrngi naki
Tanomi aru
«Mede
Mede-hayashi-keri
Furi-tamahi-kefi
Kiyoki mi nori wo
Saga ba i-barabi
Kataki mi koto wo
Ozo ba ncbi toke
I-yorokoboshi
Hiraki-satosbite
Managari mo seznte
Awo-hito-gusa wo
Obo mi nori koso
Susur'ara bana no
Eagnhasbi kerashi
Tafutomi-negafu
Ye-maku-hoshi-kere
Mi koto kasbikomi
Sacbi to naru mono
Shim bito nakedo
Kakurnru saga mo
Hibikern saga mo
I-harahi-tamahi
Wa ga noru koto
Wa ga 'mofu koto mo
Chi-biki no iba to
Wa ga Oho-kimi ba
tamahanan !
I Goto, arch, for gotoku. Koto-tohi, " speech." a, 3, 4, 5 The first half of each
line is a p.-w. Nori, " telling." 6, 7 The arch. Jap. poet, equivalent for " into all
lands," and " into the ends of the world." Funa no he is written jft ®. 9 Mi
te~buri, " His handiwork." Ha here has almost the force of " the reason why."
10'Heloiuhe (_t)* U-Kake-maku mo, a reverential phrase which is thus ex-
plained: Iyaskiki kuchi ni kakete tonahe-taU-mateuran wo o*oremi*tsut$uma»hiki
toifunari: makuha mu wo nobetaru nari. MTtmkurashishi, Causative used as
an Honorific. Futo mi araka (>fc $P j!"E J3f)> "palace." Yu, arch, foryort*.
13 Waka-kusa no, p.-w. for tsuma. It was necessary in this passage to diverge
slightly from the original. To a Japanese poet the idea of a bridegroom being
VOL. VIII. 38
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chambeblain : a Japanese bendering of some psalms.
joyfully radiant when leaving his chamber would be inconceivable.* UMukogane,
"bridegroom." 15 Mokora-wo (jfl B 5f)t " well-matched antagonist." Waha,
etc., " resolved not to be outstripped." Wa arch, (except in wa ga) for ware.
17 Yo, arch, for yori. 18 .BTttwia ochizu, • * every part." 20 iftw/it ( S|) » in compounds,
"marvellous," "sacred"; etc. 23Jlfon* for mamoru. &A, arch. Pronoun of the
First Person. 25 Ozo, " folly." 26 I-yorohoboshi, arch, for yorokobasht 27 #rot ( |§) ,
"subjects," " servants." WManagari, the original form of magari. Sezute, arch,
for sede. aOHiki-maseru, " leading," " swaying.'; 34 Ku-gane, "gold." SBSocAt,
same as eachihaki, "happiness," "blessing." Wlha-buchi ni, " in private " (lit.
"in a rocky gorge"). UKoto, f£. 42Koto, ^t. MChi-biki, "which it would
need a thousand men to move." To, " like." 45 ... . nan, Optative.
Onazhiku Chtyoktj-Yaktj.
Ten ha Shiyau-Tei no yei-yo (£| §£) wo katari, sau shite sora ha
Kare no te-waza wo ihi-arahasu. Ichi-zhitsu ha ta-zhitsu ni ihi, sau
shite ichi-ya ha ta-ya ni shiiiyou (jjjj J$) sasu. Gen-giyo mo dafi-wa
mo arazu : shikashi nagara kare-ra no kowe ga kare no ahida ni kikoyu.
Kare-ra no oto ha shiyo-kokn ni ide, san shite kare-ra no gen-giyo
ha se-kai no hate made idenu. Mnko ga kare no ne-ya wo idzuru
gotoku ide, san shite wi-zhiyau-fu (f$ ^ ^c) Sa kare no kiyan-sou
($ He) suru koto wo yorokobu gotoku yorokobi, ten no motsutomo toho-
ki tokoro yori ide-tachi, san shite mata sore no hate made hase-mahari,
san shite sono dan-ki wo mote ban-butsu wo terasu tokoro no tai-yau no
tame ni Rare gab karera0 ni oite maku wo hariki.
Yehoba no nori ha tamashihi wo kai-knwa sasnrn isagiyoki nori
nari. Yehoba no chikahi ha kaku-tei (J$£ j£) nari, san shite gu-zhiii ni
chi-shiki wo tamafu. Yehoba no okite ha tadashiku ari, sau shite
kokoro wo shite yorqkobashimn. Yehoba no mei-rei ha kiyoku ari,
san shite me ni hikari wo tamafu. Yehoba no osore ha ketsu-paku
(3R 6) nar*» san shite yei-kiu ni soil su. Yehoba no sai-dan ha nawoku,
san shite matsutaku tadashiku ari.
Kare-ra d ha kin yori mo, ohoku no zhiyun-kin (f£ &) yori mo
b Shiyau-Tei wo sasu. ' c Ten to sora to wo ifu. ' d Nori, chikahi, ton wo ifu.
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CHAMBEELAIN : A JAPANESE RENDERING OF SOME PSALMS.
295
hori ($f) seraru beshi ; naho-sara hachi-mitsu to hachi-bau yori amashi.
Hata mata Nanji no bokue ha kare-ra ni yorite oshiherare, sau shite
kare-ra wo mamoru koto ni oite dai naru hau-bi ari. Kare ga iku tabi
han-pafu (|B ££) suru wo tare shiru atafu? Nanji* yo ! wa ga kakure-
taru toga* yori ware wo kiyome-yo ! Mata ha kare-reg ga ware wo
tsukasadoranu yan (1§fc) ni Nanji no boku wo ogorera akn yori sukuhe-
yo : sareba ware ha isagiyoku, san shite tai-zai wo ukezarafi to su. Wa
ga chikara to wa ga kiu-shiyuu (^fc ^) naru Yehoba yo ! wa ga kuchi
no kotoba to wa ga kokoro no kangahe wo shite, tsune ni Nanji no me
ni kanahaseshime-yo !
e Onore wo ifu.
BTsxigi ni iheru aku wo ifu nari.
f Shiyau-Tei wo sasu.
DAI NI ZHIFU SAN. (Ps. 28.)
Tatahe-Uta :
A wo mora ha
Kimi nareba
Uruhashiku
Nade-masan to
5Ma-kusa kahi
Atomohite
Ma-gokoro ni
Shika bakari
Hiki no mani
10Kashikoku mo
Nuba-tama no
I-yuku#to mo
Ame shiroshi-mesu
Nani ka kaku beki
Nagnsame-masan
Kiyoki kaha-be ni
Makoto no michi ni
Nigoreru kokoro
Kahe-tamafo-rashi
Urahashi Eimi no
Mi nori wo tsuwe to
Taganete yukeba
Euraki mi kuni ni
Ani ojime ya mo
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CHAHBEBLADT '. A JAPANB8B BENDSStNO OF . SOMB PSALMS.
Iya hi keni A wo seme-kitaru
Ada-bito wo Nagome-masan to
^Nube n'uchi ni Ama tsu mi te mote
Mi ke tamahi Oho mi ki tamahi
Minanowata Ka-gnroki kami ni
Kushi-abura Sosogi-tamaheba
Tamagiharu Inochi no kagiri
90 Mi megumi shi Kaumuri-mateuri
Tokoshihe ni Tsukahe-matsuran
Kimi ga mi araka ni.
5Ma-kusakahi," feeds with good grass." 6 Atomohite, " leading." BUruhcuhi,
for uruhashiki : in the arch, language the Conclusive is often thus found where
classical usage would require the Attributive form. QHikino mani, " following
His lead.'* WKashikoku mo -(equivalent to kakemaku mo), prop, "though with
fear and trembling," but almost an Honorific Expletive. Taganuru (^ W>)> " *°
lean on." 13 Iya hi keni, "daily more and more." UNagomuru (ft), "to
subdue," " to quell." l5Nu~be n'uchi ni, arch, for no-be no uchi ni, u on the moor."
Ama Uu mi te, "God's hands." lQKe, "food." Ki, "drink." 17 Minanowata,
p.-w. for ka-guroki, Ka, expletive. MTamagiftaru, p.-w. for inochi.
Onazhiku Chiyoku-Yaku.
Yehoba ha wa ga boku-shiya nari : ware ha fu-soku sezhi. Kare
ga awo-kusa ni oite ware wo shite fusashime; Rare ga sei-riu (jjj& jjfe)
no katahara ni ware wo hikiwi ; Kare no na no tame ni Kare ga wa ga
tamashihi wo kai-fokn (jjjfc fa) shi ; kare ga ware wo nahoki michi ni
hikiu.
Sareba, ware ha shi-in (Jfc f£) no tani ni ayumu to mo, ware ha
idzure no gai nite mo qjifi to sezu ; ikan to nareba Nanji 1 ha ware to
tomo ni ari : Nanji no shi-ki-dzuwe (^ H ft) to Nanji no tsnwe to
ware wo nagusamn. Ware wo ka-koku (^f g§) suru hito n0 gan-zen
ni Nanji ha ware ni mukahite shiyoku-dai wo mauke ; Nanji ha abnra
wo mote wa ga kaube wo tiruhoshi ; sau shite wa ga hai (jjg) ha mitsu.
i&hiyau-Tei wo aasu.
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CHAMBERLAIN : A JAPANESE EENDBMNG OF SOME PSALMS. 297
Wa ga itsu-shiyau-gai (— §£ jjf ) saihahi to megumi to nomi
ware ni oyobaii to shi ; sau shite ware ha mata yei-kiu ni Yehoba no
ihe ni soman to sn.
DAI HIYAKU. (Ps. 100.)
Ama tsu Sumeba wo Home-Tatahe-Mahoshiki wo Yobodzu no Tami-
EUSA NI SUSUMUBU NO UtA .*
Ono dzu kara Ware ha ohi Bezu
Mite moclrite Ama tsu Snmera no
Uruhoshiku Tsukurashi-tamahi
Mi tami zo to Mori-masu Eimi ga
5 Oho mi idzu . Sane tana-shkite
Ame ga shita Yorodzu no hito no
Yorokobohi Utafd utahi ni
Eowe tayezu Mede-hayasanan
Mi megumi shi Toha ni karesezu
10 Mi koto shi mo Yo-yo ni kuchi senu
Umashi Eimi ga Ushi-haki-i-masu
Mi araka ni Mure-wi-worogami
Oho mi na wo Mochi-itsukanan
Yo no naka no hito t
lOhisezu, (/P 4). This line follows the English Prayer-Book rendering.
5 Sane, " truly." Tana-shim, arch, for shim. 7 Yorokobohi ', prop. yorokob'ahi, " re-
joicing together." 10 Kuchi senu, arch, for Kuchinu (7{% ^J). 11 Conclusive umashi
for Attributive umaki . XJshi-haki- i-masu (i 5§ 3? ) > ' 'where He dwells and rules"
(i for the more usual wi). MWorogwiii (from wori-kagami) arch, for wogami.
W Mochi-itsukanail, (^jf Jjf), Optat. or Imperat., " take and worship."
Onazhtku Chiyoku-Yaku.
Shiyo-koku yo ! Yehoha ni mukahite kuwan-sei (gfc fj$) wo idase.
Kin-ki (Sfc IF) wo mote Yehoba ni tsukahe-yo ; kau-kiyou (jg £$) wo
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CHAHBBBLAIN : A JAPANESE RENDERING OF SOME PSALMS.
mote Kare no mahe ni kitare ! Yehoba ha Shiyau-Tei nari to shiyou-chi
(^ to) se"y° 5 Kare ga ware-ra wo tsukuri, sau shite ware-ra wa Kare
no mono ($j), Rare no tami, sau shite Kare no maki-ba no gnn-yau
($ *£) nari.
Shiya-rei (f|} f§[) wo mote Kare no mon-nai ni iri, san-bi wo mote
Kare no tei-ri (Jg J[) ni ire-yo t Kare ni shiya se-yo ! Kare no na wo
ai-shiyou (§| fjj) se-yo ! Ikan to nareba, Yehoba ha yososhiku, Kare
no megumi ha tayezu, sau shite Kare no shin-zhitsn ha dai-dai ni ari.
DAI HIYAKU ZHIFU SAN. (Ps. 118.)
Ama tsu Sumera no Hi-Kage ni Moreshi Itashiei Hito wo Megumi-
Tamafu wo Mede-Tatahete Yomeru Uta:
Kakemakn mo
Kashikokn mo
Oho mi na wo
Akane-sasu
6Yufu-hi sasu
Kefa yori ha
Tokoshihe ni
Kuni ha shi mo
• Ame ha shi mo
10Taka shirann
Komoriku no
Ame tsnchi wo
Chiri ni fusu
Sukuhi-age
wUmazu-me ni
Sakaye aru
Un&aahiki
Ama tsn Sumera ni
Tsukahe-matsurite
Agame-tatahe-yo
Higashi no kata yu
Nishi no sora made
Yorodzn yo kakete
Tayezu koso agame
Saha ni aredomo
Hiroshi to ihedo
Kumo no anata ni
Miya ni wi-mashito
Mi-oroshi-tamahi
Madzushiki mono wo
Yoki mi to mo nashi
Ko-dakara sadzuke
Tozhi to shi megumu
A ga Oho-Kimi ni
Tagufu beki are ya ?
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CHAMBERLAIN : A JAPANESE BENDEBING OP SOME PSALMS.
tKakete has the force of " until." *Saha, " numerous ;" oonf. Colloquial taku-
tan, written ^ llj. 10 •• Beyond the immeasurably high clouds." UKomorikuno,
14 remote." M Mi here has the force of kurawi. 15 Takara adds little to the mean-
ing. 16 Tozhi, " a housewife." 18" Is there any who is like ?"
Onazhiku Chiyoku-Yaku.
HareruyaM Yehoba no boku yo! Yehoba no na wo Bau-bi se-yo,
san-bi se-yo ! Ima yori nochi yei-kiu ni Yehoba no na ha ai-shiyou sera-
refi wo wa ga negafu. Hi no idzuru yori sono iru made Yehoba no na
ba san-bi su beshi.
Yehoba ha ban-koku no uhe ni hiide ; Eare no yei-yo ha ten no uhe
ni hiidzu. Giyoku-shiyau (3i Jft) oi za shite, ten-chi wo haruka ni mi-
oroshi, kareb wo ki-zoku, sunahachi Eare no kunic no ki-zoku ni narabeii
ga tame ni jin-ai (J& J£) yori hi-zhin (% A) wo age, hai-tai ( JJ jg()
yori hin-zhin (^ A) wo kakage, dou-zhi (^ *?g) no ureshiki haha
tote umazu-me wo shite ihe wo tamotsu hito to naraehimuru wa ga Shiyau-
Tei nam Yehoba ni tare ka niru ? — Hareruya !
•Isurayeru no go ni shite, Shiyau-Tei wo ai-shiyou se-yo to no i wo fukumeri.
b Bhimo ni iheru hi-zhin hiii-zhin nari. c Tefi-koku wo ifu.
DAI HIYAEU ZHIFTJ SHI. (Ps. 114.)
Isurayeru-Bito no Fubuki Tsutahe ni Chinamite Ama tsu Sumera
NO EUSHIKI HOMARE WO YOMEBU UtA:
Eumo-wi nasu A ga toho tsu oya no
Eoto-sayegu Enni ideshi toki
Bhiko tsn kuni Uchi-ideshi toki ni
Hisa-kata no Ama tsu Sumera no
6Seo-yama ni Mi yashiro wo shime
Yo-mo no kuni Eikoshi-wi-mashiki
So wo mireba Umi mo michi-sake
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800 CHAMBERLAIN : A JAPANBSB RENDERING OF BOMB PSALMS.
So wo mireba Kaha mo shiri-zoki
Ashibiki no Yama mo wo-zhika no
10Tachi-mahishi Koko shi omohoyuru
Michi-sakeshi Umi no ara-nami mo
Shiri-zokishi Kaha no haya-se mo
Sa-wo-shika no Tachi-mafu yama mo
Nani zo ya to Wa ha omohedomo
15Chi-biki nasu Ishi wo shimidza ni
Kahe-tamafa Ama tsu Sumera no
Mi idzu ni ha Umi yama kaha mo
Kashikomazarame ya ?
lKumo-wi nasu, p.-w. for tolw, " distant." Toho tsu oya, "ancestors."
* Koto-say egu, generally used as the p.-w. for Morokoshi, " China/1 bat here in its
proper sense of " chirping," contemptuously applied to foreign languages. SShiho
tsu hum, *' vile country." Uchi, here and constantly Expletive. &Seo, "Sion,"
used for " Judah." Shimuru, "to fix," "to establish." 6 Yo-mo no kttni, " the
surrounding provinces," i.e. " Israel." Kikosu, " to rule." The repeated his in
this verse is, after the commentators, taken as applying to the Deity. 7 So, arch,
for sore. 0 Ashibiki no, p.-w. for yama. Wo-zhika no, " like young stags " (" stags "
substituted for " rams " and '< lambs "). .10 TacM, Expletive. Attributive mahishi
for Conclusive mahiki on account of the quasi- Accusative connection with the
succeeding clause. In prose omoJioyuru would be followed by ha. 13 5a, Expletive.
Shika must not here take the nigori. After no supply gotoku, as above. 15 CM-
biki nasu, same as chUbiki no.
Onazhiku Chiyoku-Yaku.
Isurayeru ga Ejifuto wo ide, Yakobu no ka-zoku ga i-gen no knni
wo ideshi toki ni, — sono toki ni Yuda ha Kare* no sei-shiyo (^fe Jjff)
to nari, Isurayeru ha Kara no riyau-bufi to nareri.
Umi ha sore wo mi, sau shite nige ; Yorudau ha shiri-zoki ; tai-zan
(^ [Ij) ha wo-hitsuzhi no gotoku, seu-zan (>Ji |Jj) ha waka-hitsuzhi no
gotoku tobiki.
Umi yo 1 nani wo nrehite nanji ha niguru ? Yorudan yo ! nani wo
* Shiyau-Tei wo saau. Tsugi no Kare mo onazhi.
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chamberlain: a Japanese rendering of some psalms.
801
urehite nanji ha shiri-zoku ? Tai-zaii yo ) nani wo nrehite nanji-ra ha
wo-hitsuzhi no gotoku tobu ? Seu-zan yo ! nani wo nrehite nanji-ra ha
waka-hitsuzhi no gotoku tobu ?
Chi yo ! Iha wo midzu no ike ni kuwa shi, kataki iha wo idzumi
ni kuwa sum tokoro no Yehoba, snnahachi Yakobu no Shiyau-Tei, no
men-zeii ni shifi-ku (jg JS) se-yo 1
DAI HIYAKU ZHIFU GO. «(ft. 116.)
To tsu Kuni-Bito no Tafutomu Kami ha Mono Ihanu Hito-Gata ni
Shite, Wa ga Tanomu Ama tsu Sumera no Mi Idzu ha Mede-
Tatahe Beki wo Yomeru Uta :
Eokotaki Kimi no
Iyashiki tami
To tsu knni-bito no
Worogama oni no
Koto wo ye-norazu
Mono wo ye-miyezu
Kowe wo ye-kikazu
Mono ni ye-furezu
Tsuchi wo ye-fomazu
Kawori ye-kagazu
Oto mo kikoyenu
Ko-gane mote seshi
Kashikomi-tanomu
Shiko hito-dochi zo
Ari nami wo sa to
Mi sakaye ha
Ware-ra mina
Shika ha aredo
Hahi-fashite
6 So gakuchiha
So ga me-ra ha
So ga mimi ha
So ga te-ra ha
So ga ashi ha
10 So gahanaha
Koto tohazu
Shiro-kane ya
Shiko-gata wo
Yatsuko-ra mo
^Shikasuga ni
•The opening and closing portions of the versified rendering of this Psalm are
more than usually free.
vol. vni. 89
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802
CHAMBF.RT.ATN : A JAPANESE RENDERING OF SOME PSALMS.
Megumi ha mo
Mi koto ha mo
Hisa-kata no
Furi-tamafu
20 Oho na sahe
Saga-hito ha
Afage-yo ya
Ya-so kuni no
Wo- date nasu
*Itadakite
Umashi Kimi zo
Ya-so kuni no
Tsuma ko-ra mo
Nade-masan
»Toho tsu kuni
Makari-ite
Hito mina ha
Ame tsuchi wo
Hisa-kata no
^Ara-kane no
Yosashi-masu
Oho-Kimi wo
Kefu yori ha
Hito mo
Megumasu Kimi
Iya kataki Kimi .
Ame ni mi idzu wo
Ama tsu Wagimi ga
Norohi-kegaseru
Nani omohi-kemu
Mi tami mo negi mo
Yoki hito made mo
Na wo mora Kimi wo
Afugi-matsuraba
Mi tami mo negi mo
Yoki hito made mo
Hi-tarashi-bito mo
Nigihahi-masan wo
Yomi no sakahi ni
Toha ni koyaseru
Mi idzu shiranedo
I-nashi-tamahite
Ame ni mashi-mashi
Tsuchi wo hito-gusa ni
Kokota tafutoki
Yorodzu yo kakete
Ware ha hayasana
hayasane !
IKokotaki (f^ ^), arch, for ohoki. ^TotsukunUbito, " the heathen." 4 0ni'
"bad spirits"; Kami, used in the literal version, may denote spirits good or
bad. 8 6 SMe-ra and te-ra, arch. Plurals. H" Speechless and deaf." ^Shiko-gata,
"idols." Uffito-dochi, "the same kind of creatures." U>Ari nami wo su to,
" denying the truth." W Megumasu, Honorific Causat. for megumu. 17 Mi koto for
makoto. 19 Wagimi, contraction of wa ga Kimi. &Afuge, pronounced aoge.
Negi, "priests" (properly the grade of Shintau priests above the kaiinushi).
23 Ya-so, "all" (lit. "eighty," A+)« ^Wo-date nasu, "like a shield": the tro,
though written )Js is expletive. Na, arch. Pronoun of the Second Person. & Hi-
tarashi-bito, "adults." V&Nigikahi, Active Verb. Wo has the force of "but."
90 « To the distant country, the frontiers of the dark land." si Ite arch, for yukite.
Toha ni koyaseru, "remain for ever." MMashi-mashi, "augustly dwells," the
first half of the compound retaining the original meaning of " to dwell," while the
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chamberlain: a Japanese rendering of some psalms. 808
second is softened into an Honorific. ^Ara-kane no, p.-w. for Uuchi. Hito-gu*a,
"mankind." 36 Yos<uu, " to grant." 38 & 39 "I will praise, and do yon praise*'.'
na arch. Future, and ne arch. Imperative.
Onazhiku Chiyoku-Yaku.
Yehoba yo ! Ware-ra ni yei-yo wo tamahazu, ware-ra ni yei-yo
wo tamahazu, Nanji no on-kei (Jg, Jg) to Nanji no shin-zhitsu no
tame ni Nanji no na ni yei-yo wo atahe-yo. Ta-koku-zhinb ha nani yuwe
ni ihan : " Ima kare-ra0 no Shiyau-Tei ha idzuku ni aru ?"
Shikaa shite ware-ra no Shiyau-Tei ha ten ni ari ; Kared no hori
suru tokoro no nani nite mo Rare ga sore wo okonafa. Eaherite kare-
ra6 no kami-tachi ha zhin-saku no kin-gin nari. Eare-ra ha kuchi wo
mochite mo katarazn. Kare-ra ha me wo mochite mo mizu. Eare-ra ha
mimi wo mochite mo kikazu. Eare-ra ha hana wo mochite mo kagazn.
Eare-ra no te ha, kare-ra ga mote furezu. Eare-ra no ashi ha, Eare-ra
ga mote ayumazu. Eare-ra ha kare-ra no nodo wo mote katarazn.
Kare-ra wo tsukuri, kare-ra wo tanomu tokoro no ono-ono no hito ha
kare-ra no gotoku ni naru.
Isurayeru yo I Yehoba wo tanome-yo ! Eare' ha kare-ra* no tayori
to tate (fl|) nari. Arona no ka-zoku yo ! Yehoba wo tanome-yo ! Eare
ha kare-ra no tayori to tate nari. Yehoba wo osoruru ( J£) tokoro no hito-
bito yo ! Yehoba wo tanome-yo ! Eare ha kare-ra no tayori to tate nari.
Yehoba ha ware-ra wo kokoro ni kakeki ; Eare ha meguman to su.
Eare ha Isurayeru no ka-zoku wo meguman to shi, Eare ha Arona no
ka-zoku wo meguman to shi, Eare ha Yehoba wo osoruru tokoro no
hito-bito chiyau-yeu (J|$J) tomo ni meguman to shi ; Yehoba ha nafiji-
ra to nanji-ra no ko-domo to ni mono wo masan to su.
Teii-chi no zau-butsu-shiya naru Yehoba nite naiiji-ra ga megu-
maruru wo wa ga negafu. Ten ha Yehoba no tame no ten nari, sau
shite Eare ga chi wo zhin-shiyu ( \%&) ni tamahiki.
. *
b Shiyau-Tei ni tsukahezaru shiyo-kokuno hito wo ifu.
c Shiyau-Tei ni tsukafuru hito wo ifu.
d Shiyau-Tei wo sasu.
e Shiyau-Tei ni tsukahezaru hito wo ifu.
1 Shiyau-Tei wo sasu. «Isurayeru-bito wo ifu.
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804 CHAMBERLAIN : A JAPANESE RENDERING OF SOME PSALMS.
Shi-shiya (^g ^£) mata ha shi-kiyau ($6 Jjfc) no nra-sei ($*§?) ni
kudaru tokoro no shiyo-nin (^ A) ha Yehoba wo san-bi sezu. Eaheriie
ware-ra ha ima yori nochi yei-kiu ni Yehoba wo ai-shiyou seii to su. —
Hareraya !
DAI HIYAKU NI ZHIFU SAN. (Pa. 128.)
Ababuru Hito ni Semerarete Ama tsu Sumera no Mi Tasuke wo
Negi-Matsuru Uta :
Hisa-kata no Ame ni masu tefu
Oho-Kimi wo Wa ha afugana
Masura-wo no Nushi afugu goto
Wotome-ra no Tozhi afugu goto
6 Me kare sezu Afugi-tanomite
Mi megumi wo Tayezu wa ga negu
Hokorahishi Hito ni warahaye
Chihayaburu Hito ni nikumaye
Umashi Kimi no Megumi shi nakuba
10Ikaga semu ka mo?
1 Tefu, pronounced clw, contraction of toifu, lit. " said to," but almost an ex-
pletive. 2 Afugana, arch. Future. 6 Me kare sezu, "with eyes that tire not."
QNegu, "to pray for;" conf. negi, "a priest." The compound form negafti has
survived in common usage. 7 Warahaye, arch. Passive for waraliare. 8 Chihaya-
buru, "violent," "oppressive." In the later poetry it passed into a p.-w. for bad
gods, and eventually for gods in general. Nikumaye, arch. Passive for nikumare :
prose would here require the Participle or the so-called Conditional, instead of the
Radical form.
Onazhtcu Chiyoku-Yaku.
Teii no giyoku-shiyau (3£ jffc) ni za sun* tokoro no Naiiji ni ware
ha wa ga.me wo agu. Mi-yo-ya ! Boku-ra no me ha Karera no shiyuu-
kuii (j£ JjJ) no te he mukafu gotoku, hi (jfa) no me ha Kare no shiyuu-
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CHAMBERLAIN I A JAPANESE BENDBBING OF SOME PSALMS. 805
b° (i fit) n0 te he mukafu gotoku, — sono gotoku ware-ra no me ha,
Kare* ga ware-ra wo megumu made, Yehoha he mukafu.
Yehoba yo ! ware-ra wo megume, ware-ra wo megume-yo ! Ikau to na-
reba ware-ra ha zhifu-bun (-f* ft) ni kei-hetsu wo nkeki. Ware-ra no
tamashihi ha keu-shiya (f| q§ ) no anadori] to bau-kun (|| g) no
kei-betsu to zhifu-bun ni ukeki.
•Shiyau-Tei wo sasu.
DAI HIYAKU NI ZHIFU SHI. (Ps. 124.)
Ama tsu Sumeba no Mi Tasuke wo Mede-Kashikomu no Uta:
Arachi-wo no Osohi-koshi told
Hisakata no Ama tsu Oho-Kimi no
Mi idzu mote Tasuke-masazuba
Chihayaburu Hito ni ya nomare
6Tagi tsu se no Kaha ni ya ware ha
6hidzumi-hate Horobi-haten wo
Ame tsuchi wo I-nashi-tamahishi
• Oho-Kimi no Aharemi-maseba
Shiko tsu wo ga Ye-mono to narazu
10Tonami hari Torafu hito no te yu
Tobi-kakeru Eaho-dori no goto
Mi yo no tanoshisa !
&Tagi: in arch, usage this word takes the nigori, and signifies, not so much a
waterfall, as the rapids of a river. 6. . . ten wo, " should have . . . but." 10 Tonami,
contraction of tori no ami. Torafu, from tori-afu (though written }$), " to catch.,,
UKaho-dori ( jfc ,%), " a beautiful bird." 12 The whole sentence has the force of
an exclamation.
Onazhiku Chiyoku-Yaku.
Isurayern wo shite ihaseshime-yo : Hito-bito ga ware-ra ni sakahite
hatsu-ki (f$4B) seshi toki ni, Yehoba ha wa ga mikata ni arazareba, sono
toki ni kare-ra no ikari ga ware-ra ni sakahite hatsu seshi toki ni, kare-
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806 CHAMBBBLAIN I A JAPANESE BENDEBINO OF SOME PSALMS.
ra ga ware-ra wo sei-doii (^#) seshi naran, sono toki ni midzu ga
ware-ra wo oboraseslii naran, kaha ga ware-ra no tamashihi wo ahidzu-
meshi naran, ken-man ni minagiru midzu ga ware-ra no tamashihi wo
shidzumeshi naran. .
Kare-ra no shi-ga (jUfj ^p) no ye-mono tote ware-ra wo sntezarishi
tokoro no Yehoba ha ai-shiyou serareii.wo waganegafu. Ware-ra no
tamashihi ha kiii-teu ('fif J^)' no gotoku ho-teu-sha (^§ j^ qjf) no
ami yori nigeki : ami ha sake (§jl), saa shite ware-ra ha nigeki.
Ten-chi no zau-butsu-shiya nam Yehoba no na ha ware-ra no tayori
nari.
•This compound is used because the simple word tori suggests the idea of " a
barn-door fowl."
DAI HIYAKU NI ZHIFU SHICHL (Ps. 127.)
Yorodzu no Eoto-goto Ama tsu Sumeba no Mi Tama-Mono Nabu wo
Yomebu Uta :
Ihe ha mo Ama tsu Oho-Kimi no
Mi te mote Tatezuba tatazu
Iha-ki ha mo Ama tsu Oho-Kimi no *
Mi idzu mote Morazuba yohashi
6 Mi ke shi mo yo Wa ha inuru to mo
Ama tsu Eimi no Tada ni kudasu zo
Shikasuga ni Oho tari mi mi no
Mi megumi to Omohoyede koso
Ake-boshi no Ide-konu saki yo
10Yu£u-dzutsu no Eage kururu made
Adzusa-yumi Itodo isoshimu
Eahi nakere Umare-ide-kuru
Eo-ra chifu mo Tami wo uruhosu to
Ama tsu Eimi no Tamafu takara ya
wMasura-wo ga Yu-de no ya no goto
Ya nareba ya Ei no kana-do ni
Wa ga ada ni I-mukafu toki zo
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chamberlain: a Japanese bendemng of some psalms. 807
Ito saha ni Yugi ni sono ya wo
Takuhafuru Chichi no mikoto ha
^Tanoshikiro ka mo !
l to 4 Considerably compressed to suit the Japanese taste for brevity. Iha-ki
(%j Sfc)> " a firm castle " or •• fortified city." 7 Oho tari mi mi (^C J£ ^ #),
" the great, all-sufficing, august being." 9 To, arch, for yori. ^Adzusa-yumi, p.-w.
for words beginning with A and others. Isoshimu, " to hurry," " to take pains."
13 Ko-ra, " children," arch. Plural. CJiifu, pronounced chiyil, arch, contraction of to
i/u. 15 Yu-de, for yumi-te, " the left hand." 16 Ya narebaya, " being arrows." Ki
(Si)> arch, for " a castle." Kana-do (from & and P"), arch, for ftado, "a
gate." 17 Wa ga, " their." 19 Chichi no mikoto (usually preceded by the p.-w. cAi-
chinomino), *' father." ^Tanoshikiro ka mo, "is happy indeed " : fciro would*
seem to stand for .... fa* art*; &a mo is exclamatory like the common classical
kana.
Onazhiku Chiyoku-Yaku.
Ihe wo ba Yehoba ga zau-ritsu (|§J 3j£) sezareba, sore wo zau-ritsu
suru tokoro no hito-bito ha mu-yeki ni rau (|£) su. To-fu (%$ Jff)
wo ba Yehoba ga shiu-go (^p H?) sezareba, sore wo shin-go sum tokoro
no hito ha mu-yeki ni yo wo akasu.
Nafij'i-ra ga ku-rau (^ $£) no pan wo kuhi-tsutsu, hayaku okite
sau shite tada osoku ikofu ha mu-yeki nari. Eedashi sono gotoku Rare*
ga Kare no ai-shi ( j| Ijh) ni nemuri no uchi ni tamafu.
Mi-yo-ya I Dan-zhi (^ §g) ha Yehoba no tama-mono nari ; hara
no mi ha hau-bi (3§J H) nari. Yei-iyuu (^ ££) no te ni ya (^J) no
aru gotoku, sono gotoku sau-nen (t|£ dp) no dan-zhi-domo nari.
Kare-rab ni mitsuru yugi wo motsu tokoro no hito ha saihai nari.
Kare-ra ha mon ni oite teki to kataru toki ni, kare-ra ga hajin to sezu.
* Shiyau-Tei wo sasu. bDau-zhi wo ifu.
DAI HIYAKU NI ZHIFU HACHI. (Ps. 128.)
Yoki Hito no Sachihahi wo Yomeru Uta :
Yasumishishi Wago Oho-Eimi ni
Kake-maku mo Tsukahe-matsurite
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806 chambeblain: a Japanese bendekino of some psalms.
Hisa-kata no Ama tsu mi nori wo
Kashikoku mo Mori-ken hito no
5 Bono sachi ya Kagiri mo shirani
Ta tsn mono Mi -nori yutakeku
Hata tsu mono Woshi-mono saha ni
Waka-kusa no Tsuma no mikoto ha
Niha n'uchi no Tama-katsura goto
10Ari-ginu no Takara no ko-ra ha
Haru-no-be no Waka-na no gotoku
Ono ga mi mo Toshi no wo nagaku
Ko-ra ga ko no Suwe no suwe made
Kuni sakiku Miyako yutaka ni
^Nagarahen Ama tsn Oho-Kimi no
Mede-tamahi Megumase-tamafu
Hito no tanoshisa !
1 Yasumiskiski, p.-w. for the following. Wago, arch, irreg. form for wa ga. 5 Ka-
giri mo shirani, " boundless "; ni is the arch. Radical form of the Negative nu. 6 Ta
tsu mono, " the produce of his field"; 7" The produce of his garden and his food
being very abundant." ^Waka-kusa no, p.-w. for tsuma. Tsuma no mikoto, " wife."
0 N'uchi, arch, contraction for no uchi. Tama, " beautiful ." The figures of the
vine and the olive-branches can only be thus rendered by equivalents. 10 Ariginu
no, p.-w. for takara, which latter is almost an Expletive. U No-be ($f jJJ), " a
grassy lea." 12 Toshi no wo {if $|J), " the thread of his life." U Sakiku, " pros-
perous," only used in the Adverbial form. 17 " 0 1 the happiness of the man who
etc., etc."
Onazhiku Chiyoku-Yaxu.
Yehoba wo osore, Kare no michi wo ayumu tokoro no ono-ono no
mono (%) ha saihahi nari. Nanji A ha mochi-rofi nanji no shiu-sei (^ JU)
no mono wo kuhan to su ; nanji ha saihahi nari, sau shite nanji ha nani-
goto mo tanoshiku ari.
Nanji no tsuma ha nanji no ihe no oka ni ara yutaka nam bu-dau
no gotokn ari ; nanji no ko-domo ha nafiji no tsukahe no mahari nam
kan-ran no ko-yeda no gotoku ari.
* Michi wo ayumu shin-zhiya (4f§ ;§) wo ifu.
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CSAMBEBLAD9 : A JAPANESE BENDEBINO OF SOME PSALMS. 809
Mi-yo-ya ! Yehoba wo osornrn tokoro no hito ha mochi-ron kaku
aiseraru. Seo-yama yori Yehoba ha nanji wo mede ; sau shite nafiji
no shiyau-gai (££ 2£) nanji ha Yerusaren no haii-zhiyau {% §|) wo
mi ; sau shite nanji ha naiiji no ko-domo no ko-domo wo min wo wa ga
negafu. Isurayeru ni hei-aii aran wo wa ga negara.
DAI HIYAKU SAS ZHIFU SAfi. (Ps. 188).
Taoahi ni Mutsumeeu Mi no Sachihahi wo Yomebu TJta:
Uruhashiku Ahi-stunu tami no
Sono sachi ya Taguhete ihana
Nagnhashiki Oho-negi Arona no
Itadakite Ya-tsuka no hige yn
5Eoromo made Mo no suso made ni
Sosoga chifa Kushi-abura ga goto
Mata ha shi mo Taguhete ihana
Hisa-kata no Ama tsu Oho-Kimi no
Kashikoku mo Mi koto-nori shite
10Toko-toha ni Mede-tamahi-masu
Seo-yama no Kushi-yama no he ni
Hernmo-ne yn Urohobi-okern
Tsuyu-shimo no Shira-tama goto mo
Uruhashiku Ahi-sumu tami no
15 Sono sachihahi ha I
2 Taguhete, " by a similitude." Ihana, arch. Future (for iha fi). 3 Naguhashiki
(/& $B)) " far-famed/1 arch, equivalent of the phrase na ni *hi ofu, common in
the classical poetry. * Ya-tsuka ( A 5R)> "very long." 10 Toko-toha ni, "for
evermore." 11 Kushi-yama, " sacred mountain.*1 He, J§. 13 Tsuyu-shimo, " dew,*'
shimo being an Expletive, though written f§, and not to be confounded with the
particles shi mo. 14 & 15 Initial lines repeated after the manner of the se-dou-ka.
vol. vm. 40
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"810 chamberlain: a Japanese BBKDXBiNa of boms psalms.
Onazhku Chiyoku-Yaku.
Mi-yo-ya! Kei-tei mo itsu-shiyo (— ffi) ni sumu koto ha ika ni
yoroshiku, sau shite ika ni nreshiku aru yo ! Sore ha Arona no hige ni
shidzuka ni nagare-kudari, kare no i-fuku no suso made shidzuka ni
nagare-kudarn kaube no tafutoki abura no gotoku ; mata ha Seo-yama
ni shidzuka ni nagare-kudarn Herumo no tsuyu no gotoshi : ikan to nareba
soko ni Yehoba ha ofi-kei, sunawachi inochi wo yei-kiu ni maakeki.
DISCUSSION.
The Bey. J. L. Amerman observed that the Japanese could use their colloquial
dialect with the element o! vulgarity eliminated. It then became suitable for
serious compositions. He knew of several serious publications in the colloquial
dialect which had achieved a very wide circulation. He considered that the
greatest objection to the plan proposed by Mr. Chamberlain was the fact that
there was a double rendering. In translating the Scriptures it was very essential
that the sacred text should be expressed in one way and one way only. Any
paraphrase would be apt to reflect the distinctive doctrinal views of the translator.
The experience of those who had used the English Prayer-Book version of the
Psalms seemed to show that a paraphrase, versified and amplified, was unnecessary.
The present tendency in Japan was towards the extended use of Sinico-Japanese,
between which and the colloquial style a gradual approximation seemed to he
taking place.
Mr. Satow said he had had the pleasure of reading Mr. Chamberlain's transla-
tions into ancient Japanese verse, and he had no hesitation in saying that they
appeared to him to convey the spirit of the English original much more closely
than the literal versions. In spite of the success obtained by the author of the
paper, he was, however, inclined to agree with the view of the last speaker, that
this style would not be found adequate to translating the whole of the Old Testa-
ment. The Chinese classics to the follower of Confucius, and the Chinese versions
of the Buddhist Scriptures to the Buddhist priest, were what the Bible is to the
European, and their style ranked as high in the judgment of Japanese as that of
the English version in the opinion of Englishmen. If the Chinese version of the
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(811)
Old Testament already in existence were made to conform more closely to the
classical Chinese, it could be read with facility by educated Japanese, and if
published with a Japanese translation in the same way as the Chinese classios are,
would be easily understood by the common people, who by the medium of the
popular newspapers, printed in Chinese characters with Japanese characters
along-side, were daily becoming more familiar with the Sinioo-Japanese style. Such
had been the opinion expressed to him by several Japanese with whom he had
conversed on the subject.
Dr. Faulds said that there were elements at work tending to raise the colloquial
language out of its present degraded state, and that the Japanese were beginning
to look on the high Chinese style as rather ridioulous, and to compare scholars of
Chinese to those painters who were celebrated for their classical pieces, which no
one understood, but who failed miserably when they laid themselves open to
general criticism by painting something commonplace and intelligible.
Mr. Blanchet handed in a copy of a " Japanese version of the hundredth Psalm,"
translated by a committee of missionaries in Sinico-Japanese style. [See next
Mr. Wright asked Mr. Chamberlain whether the plan he advocated was
intended to apply to the translation of the Psalms for actual use by Japanese
converts to Christianity?
Mr. Chamberlain said that, having already exposed his views at length in the
paper now under discussion, he would not take up more than a few moments of the
meeting's time. He simply desired to remind Mr. Amerman, who had objected on
principle to the plan of printing two parallel versions of the Psalms and
making one of these versions a poetical parapharase, that in the chief book
of one of the chief churches of Christendom,— the English Prayer-Book, —
two such versions were given. That the metrical version was in this par-
ticular case a very unsatisfactory one, did not affect the argument. He also
begged to correct a statement of Mr. Amerman's to the effect that he (Mr.
Chamberlain) had denied the existence of any serious works in Sinico-Japanese,
and observed that, after all, the distinction between Sinico-Japanese and the
Chiyoku-yaku style which he had advocated, was not essential. If, as Mr. Satow
seemed to think, the existing Chinese versions of the Scriptures are those which
are most likely to suit the taste of Japanese readers, then we may find pleasure
in the thought that the labour of translation is already accomplished. If, on the
contrary, the colloquial, when it shall have been rendered fit for literary purposes,
is to be the medium, then in all probability no person now living will survive to see
the result. No one would hail with greater delight than himself the substitution
of one common easily understood language for the present cumbrous system
according to which the Japanese write in a manner different to that in which they
speak. But the versions in his paper had been made with a view,— not to a distant
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( 812 )
future, bat to the present moment,— and were intended to be o! a kind that would
please the educated olass, the most important of all classes, leading, as it does, the
way in which the masses afterwards follow.
PSALM 100— SHI HIYAKU HEN.
1. Sekai mina Yehoba ni yorokobi yobawari ; yorokobi wo motto
Yehoba ni tsukaye, uta wo motte sono maye ni kitarubeshi.
2. Nanjira Yehoba wa Kami nam wo shiru beshi, Shu wa war era
wo tsukuri-tamayeri.
8. Warera midzukara tsukurishi ni aradzu, Shu no tami, Shu ni
kawaruru hitsuji nari.
4. Kansha wo motte Shu no mon ni iri, sambi wo motte Shu no den
ni nobori, Shn ni shashi, mi na wo home tatematsurubeshi.
5. Shn wa megumi ari, Shn no awaremi kagiri naku, sono makoto
yoyo ni tsukizareba nari.
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(818)
ANCIENT SEPULCHRAL MOUNDS IN KAUDZUKE.
By Eenest Satow.
[Rmd April 13, 1880.]
A great impulse has lately been given to the study of archaeology
in this country by the important discoveries of Prof. Ed. Morse in the
shell-heaps at Ohomori1 and elsewhere, by the publication of Mr. Yon
Siebold's "Notes on Japanese Archeology," full of interesting facts
and valuable illustrations, and still more recently by the researches of
Mr. John Milne in Yezo, which have formed the subject of a paper
already presented by him to this Society.2 Fresh helps to the study of
this subject may be daily looked for, and every additional scrap of
information is worth collecting. It is with this conviction that I venture
to oner to the society a few notes on some prehistoric burial-mounds in
the province of Kaudzuke which were opened about two years back, as
well as on the ancient pottery and other articles discovered in them and
at one or two neighbouring places.
Whoever has travelled in the province of Yamato cannot fail to
have visited some of the remarkable circular tumuli, often surrounded
by moats, under which lie the remains of the early sovereigns of this
country. In Kaudzuke, also, there are numerous circular burial-mounds,
and in the course of an hour's ramble in the neighbourhood of the
village of Ohomuro on the occasion of a recent visit, I counted at least
six undoubted ones, three of which have been already opened, besides
as many more of similar shape that will probably turn out on examina-
tion to be of the same character. None of those that had been opened,
1See " Memoirs of the Science Dept., University of Tokio, 1879, vol. i, pt. 1.
'Transactions, vol. viii., pt. 1.
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814 SATOW: ANCIENT SEPULCHRAL MOUNDS IN KAUDZUKE.
as far as I could ascertain, were known to have yielded any relics of
antiquity, but then one of them, the largest, was opened so long ago
that all memory of the event has been lost. In this province the
circular mounds appear to have been reserved for persons of inferior
rank, and the great finds of pottery and other articles have been made
in tumuli of another form. These are situated in the villages of Ohoya
and OHomuro,8 two in the former, three in the latter village. Of the
two at Ohoya, one was opened about 60 years ago, and the last survivor
of those who had a hand in its demolition died three years back. It
yielded, besides a circular mirror hung with small bells and one so-
called maga-tama, several very curious pieces of pottery, which will be
described further on. The second was opened in 1878. Of the three
at Ohomuro two only have been opened, and it was from one of these
that a large and varied assemblage of extremely characteristic pottery
was obtained, besides iron weapons, articles of bronze and blue
glass beads.
The general shape of these mounds is best shown by the accompany-
ing sketch of one of them. They are in fact double mounds, and are
therefore popularly called Futa-go yama or Twin-hills. A line drawn from
end to end would run nearly from east to west. The west end is square,
the eastern being round. While the latter contained the tomb, with
the corpse lying north and south, the former is supposed to have been the
quarter from which reverence was paid to the dead by the presentation
of offerings. About the middle there is a slight contraction, to which a
depression in the connecting ridge corresponds. Each mound seems
to have been originally built up in three tiers, though the outlines have
been obliterated in the course of ages by the growth of vegetation and the
action of wind and rain. On the top of each jiier was a fence formed of
a row of terra cotta pipes about two feet high, connected by wooden
poles or bamboos passed through holes about half-way from the base.
Of these three mounds those which lie on the north and south have a
single surrounding moat, but the central one had once a double moat,
traces of which are still easily distinguished. Several small circular
mounds are dotted irregularly about the immediate vicinity, but as these
8 About 7 miles E. of Mahebashi, the capital of the Gun-ba prefecture, and
6 miles N. of Isezaki on the high-road from Tou-kiyau to that town.
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SATOW. ANCIENT SBPULCHBAL MOUNDS IN KAUDZUKE. 815
have not yet been examined it is impossible to say whether they are in
any way connected with the principal mounds, as being, for instance,
the burial-places of retainers. It may perhaps be that the double-moated
tumulus covers the tomb of a personage of still higher rank than either
of the others, and when it comes to be opened may be expected to yield
an even larger collection of relics.
For convenience' sake I will begin with the southernmost mound.
Its greatest height is 86 feet, its length 872 feet and width 284 feet, ac-
cording to the official measurement. The tomb is in the ciroular part at
the east end, and opens towards the south, but a little to the east. It is
divided into three sections, the outermost of which is a passage 88 feet
in length, to which succeeds a sort of sacrificial chapel 24 feet long, and
. then a chamber 6 feet in depth, which is supposed to have contained
the coffin. The height throughout is rather over 6 feet, and the width,
beginning with about 8 feet at the entrance, gradually increases to about
4£ feet at the further end. No exact measurements are possible, because
the stones of which the walls and roof are constructed are rough un-
trimmed blocks, just in the state in which they were- brought from the
quarries on the hill-side in the neighbourhood. The size of these blocks
is considerable. Those in the roof of the outer'passage must be at least
6 feet long, and as there are 8 of them, must average over 4 feet in
width. This part of the tomb was filled up with loose stones and earth,
and at its further end were two large slabs which closed the entrance to
the interior. The sacrificial chapel was divided from the coffin chamber
by a low sill of stone. When the mound was first opened the interior of
the tomb was found filled half-way to the roof with fine dust, which had
evidently accumulated during the lapse of centuries by falling through
the crevices between the stone slabs overhead. On removing this there
were discovered in the outer compartment seventeen pieces of pottery,
part of a bronze head- piece for a horse, a bronze stirrup in fragments,
an iron spear-head, a quantity of iron arrow-heads and some bits of iron
chain. In the innermost compartment were found about three hundred
beads of blue glass, a small gold ring (Fig. 29), a circular bronze
mirror 4£ inches in diameter, an iron spear-head, some iron hooks and
bits of chain, and four ornaments in bronze, much broken, lying in
the four corners. Mr. Atkinson has kindly analyzed some fragments
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816 SATOW: ANCIENT SEPXJLOHBAL MOUNDS IN KAUDZUKE.
of the beads, and states that they appear to consist of a silicate
of potash and lime, containing some ferrous silicate and coloured
with oxide of cobalt. The glass contains no lead, and its specific gravity
is low — 2.88. The iron was almost entirely converted into rust, and
the bronze articles had also rusted considerably, with the exception
of the mirror, which appears to have suffered little. The floor was
covered with a quantity of reddish dust, some of which I brought
away. It has been found by Mr. Atkinson to consist mainly of red
oxide of iron, with very slight traces of phosphoric acid and lime. It is
•supposed that the body, together with a necklace formed of these beads,
the ring and the mirror, was enclosed in a wooden coffin filled with red
oxide of iron (known to the Japanese as benigara) ; and that the coffin
was then suspended from the roof by the iron hooks and chains of
which fragments were found lying on the floor. The four bronze
halberd-shaped ornaments were perhaps fixed on the end of staves, and
placed upright in the four corners. In the course of time the -body,
burial clothing and wood of the coffin evidently decayed, while the
imperishable contents fell to the bottom of the tomb. The hooks and
chains were eaten through by rust, and gave way, some falling outside
the sill, the rest within. This must have happened before the dust
began to find its way through the crevices of the roof. If the coffin were
made of maid (Podocarpus macrophylla) as we learn from the Ni-hon-gi
was the practice in early times, it would have a good chance of lasting
twenty or thirty years, before falling to pieces, as this is one of the most
durable kinds of wood grown in Japan.
The pottery discovered in the interior of the tomb was mainly of
two sorts, one being blackish grey, thick and extremely hard, the other
red, inclining to pink, thin and comparatively soft. A third, which may
be called terra cotta, probably made from a somewhat coarser clay of the
same character as the last, was used for the tubular posts of the fences
already mentioned. The ornamentation is chiefly of seven kinds : 1st,
horizontal parallel ridges and grooves at regular distances ; 2nd, angular
wave-lines or zigzags impressed on the paste by means of a comb with
from two to seven teeth ; 3rd, a pattern made by cutting shallow notches
with a knife in a direction inclined from the axis of the article and then
impressing a row of blunt points on the left hand side of the notch; 4th,
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SATOW! ANCIENT SEPULCHRAL KOTOWS IN KATJD2TOKB. 817
irregular designs produced by parallel strokes made with a blunt point,
which are crossed by other strokes only slightly differing in direction or
by strokes at right angles, the effect being in some cases a resemblance
to the impression of a coarse kind of cloth ; 6th, curved strokes made
without any particular intention, crossing each other in an irregular
manner ; 6th, concentric circular incised lines ; 7th, small buttons or
bosses of clay; and lastly, square, triangular and round holes made
through the bases of vessels. The terra cotta pieces have their surfaces
generally covered with parallel striae in the direction of their length,
made with some article of the nature of a brush.
I shall now proceed to describe the contents of the first tumulus
in detail.4
No. 1.
Of common red clay, without any glaze, made with the wheel. In
the base two triangular apertures, cut out of the soft paste with a knife.
One side was partly blackened, apparently with lamp-black.
INCHES.5
Height 11.94
Diam. of mouth 6.18
" " throat 4.05
" " globe 7.78
II " top of base 2.91
" " foot of base 6.86
No. 2.
Brown clay inclining to pale red, the fractures black. Distinct
marks of the wheel on the inside of the bowl. Underneath the rim on
the outside runs a zigzag pattern made with seven points, then two
grooves, another zigzag mark, and then the latticed pattern made with
a blunt point. The zigzags are repeated on each of the four sections of
the base.
* See the illustrations.
6 These measures were taken in Japanese inches and afterwards converted into
English measure by multiplying by 1.19. The 2nd decimal cannot be depended on
for exactness.
vol. vm. 41
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818 SATOW: AKGIEHT 8EPULCHKAL MOUKDS IN KAUDZUKB. *
1HCHB8.
Height 15.6
Diam. of bowl 14.28
Height of base 10.71
Diam. of top of base 4.28
" of foot of base 10.82
No. 8.
A kind of flat circular jar of dark brown clay, with concentric
circles incised on the front side, the back quite plain. Apparently
intended to J>e hong against a wall by cords passed through its two ears,
but discovered resting upright in the bowl of No. 2.
INCHKB.
Diam 10.11
From back to front 5.71
Diam. of mouth 2.78
Height of neck 1.48
No. 4.
This resembles No. 2 very closely, almost the only difference being
that the base has one section less. The bottom of the interior of the
bowl is covered with curved lines made with a broad point. The lip of
the bowl has zigzag ornaments made with two points only. On the
bottom of the bowl are two sets of parallel straight lines crossing each
other at an acute angle. Colour and material the same as No. 2.
INCHES.
Height 14.99
Height of base 10.11
Diam. of bowl 14.28
" " foot 12.14
" " top of base 4.46
No. 5.
A flat circular jar like No. 8, with a wider neck, slightly inclined to
one side, and the zigzag mark under the lip. This was found resting
in No. 4.
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FIG .3 SIDE VIEW OF FIQ %
FIG. 4
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SATOW: ANCIENT SEPULCHRAL MOUNDS IN XAUDZUXE. 819
No. 6.
A tall column surmounted by a small basin, in the bottom of which
is a hole 1.5 in. diameter. To what purpose this was applied can only
be a matter of conjecture. It is possible that it held a staff to which
were attached streamers of cloth, representing the aratahe and nigitahe
frequently mentioned among offerings made to the gods. Colour gener-
ally dark brown, but the base has apparently been coloured with red
*■ "*" of iron. The bowl has distinct marks of the potter's wheel,
rnamentation consists of the zigzag pattern on the outside of the
and on each section of the columns and base, besides small
s or bosses on the bands which divide the six sections of the
. The upper edge of the base has the pattern made with the
d blunt points, and is further decorated with four small images
ppear to represent a bird, a fish, a frog and a mouse. There is
for one more, which has been lost. Each of the upper five
s of the column has two rows of zigzag marks, the bottom
i only one. The bell-shaped base has one row of zigzags in the
section, two each in the second and third sections, and one in the
q section. All made with a five-toothed comb.
INCHES.
ghtofbowl x 2.86
• " column 12.02
" base 8.69
Total height 28.57
Diam. of bowl 7.78
" " top of column 4.28
" " bottom of column 8.45
" " top of base 5.06
" " bottom of base 11.66
No. 7.
A wide-mouthed vase of blackish grey clay, with traces of colouring
with red oxide of iron. Ornamentation on the neck, three closely united
rows of zigzags made with a five-toothed comb ; on the globe, two rows
of the pattern made with the knife and blunt points.
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SATOW: ANOINT 8BPULGHBAL MOUNDS IN KAUDZUXB.
OICHBB.
Height 9.28
Diam. of mouth 5.47
" " globe 7.6
" " throat 8.57
Height of globe 5.86
No. 8.
A tazza of brown clay, no colouring, with three triangular aperture?
in the base, formed with curvilinear sides. Zigzag mark on th avI
formed by a three-toothed comb.
Height !2
" of base J.i;
Diam. of bowl 5 S
" "foot 8.S9
" "throat LAS
Three of these vessels were found, one of them broken into t* ] ieoes.
No. 9.
A vase of brown clay, with a round bottom, so that if 1 (><*-» not
readily stand upright. The whole of the neck is covered ~\itl 'ho
zigzag pattern, and round the middle of the globe runs a ban . i h we
pattern made by the knife and blunt points. In this band . < i a
carefully formed round aperture, but no traces are visible oi in ut
having at any time been attached.
i
Height ^
" of globe 2.8
Diam. of mouth 5.71
" "globe 4.4
" " throat 2.8
No. 10.
A tazza of brown clay similar to No. 8, with truncated triangular
apertures in the base.
INCHES.
Height 5.95
Diameter 5.88
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FIG. 1 *
FIG. 77 Flo. 7 <r
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SJLTOW: ANCIENT 8BPULCHBAL MOUNDS IN KAUDZTTKE. 821
No. 11.
A tazza of red clay, without ornament.
INCHES.
Height 5.85
Diam. of bowl 7.88
11 "foot 6.24
A pair of these were found.
No. 12.
Similar tazza of smaller dimensions.
INCHES.
Height 6.12
Diam. of bowl 6.48
" " foot 5.24
There were a pair of these.
No. 18.
A saucer of red clay, with perpendicular sides ; no ornament.
Diameter 4,64
Height 1.78
No. 14.
Bronze cheek-piece for the head-stall of a horse, composed of a
horizontal plate 18in. in length, and a vertical plate 8$ in. high, with a
double edging ornamented with small circular bosses.
No. 15.
Stirrup-iron, consisting of a circular ring for the foot, 6 inches
diameter, and a straight piece by which it was suspended 10 in. long,
much rusted and broken into four pieces.
Nos. 16 and 17.
Two iron spear-heads, each about a foot in length, much rusted.
No. 18.
Halberd-shaped ornament of bronze plates, with double edging
ornamented with small bosses about 17 in. long. There were four of
these, all in a more or less corroded and broken condition.
No. 19.
Fragment of a human head in red clay, found buried in the earth
at the base of the tumulus. Full size.
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SATOWI ANCIENT SEPULCHRAL HOUNDS IN KAUDZUEE.
No. 20.
Hand-made tubular post of terra-cotta dag up at the base of the
tumulus. The upper part, above the hole through which a bamboo or
wooden pole was passed, has been broken off. Surface covered with
close longitudinal marks of a coarse brush.
INCHES.
Height to edge of hole 11.54
Diameter 6 to 6.65
No. 21.
Is a similar corner-post, which apparently terminated in a knob.
Of rough terra cotta, without marks of the brush, hand-made. This was
found at one of the tumuli, but I was unable to ascertain which.
INCHES.
Height 14.28
Diameter 4.64 to 6
It would be easy to obtain more by digging, as the ground seems
to yield fragments of these posts whenever disturbed.
The central tumulus, as I have already stated, has not yet been
opened.
The northern tumulus, when opened, was found to contain a single
chamber about 21 feet deep, 5 ft. wide at the entrance, increasing to
9 ft. at the back, and a little over 6 ft. high, built of the same huge uncut
blocks as that already described. The roof is formed by five of these.
The longest block measures 7 feet by 5, and 2 ft. is apparently the average
thickness. The opening bears S.W. by S. Nothing was found in this
tomb but a few human teeth, a fragment or two of bone, a quantity
of iron arrow-heads (see Fig. 22-4) and rings of different sizes, some of
iron, others of silver-plated bronze.
Among the miscellaneous pieces of pottery in the collection obtained
from these tumuli is a curious fragment, which has an ornament on the
inner side formed of circles and curves drawn in the clay with a blunt
point, and usually considered to be characteristic of ancient Korean
pottery. The outer side has a pattern similar to what has already been
described as found on the specimens figured as Nos. 2 and 4, and which
is apparently formed of series of parallel depressed lines or grooves
made with a blunt point, and crossing each other at a very acute angle,
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8AT0W: ANCIENT BBFDLCBBAL HOUNDS IN KAUDZTJKE. 828
but sometimes at a right angle. The exact spot where this bit was
discovered was not known, bnt I was informed that it had been found
in digging over a field somewhere in the village. Drawings of both
surfaces after rubbings are given in Fig. 88.
At the adjacent village of Ohoya, behind a Shin-tau temple called
San-tai zhin-zhiya, dedicated to the goddess Ko-no-hana-saku-ya hime,
is a fourth double tumulus with five attendant circular mounds close
by. This tumulus was the first to be opened. The tomb consists of a
single chamber, about 6 ft. wide 7 high and 16 deep. The roof is
formed of three large blocks, each of which must measure about ten feet
ty four. No pottery was discovered in it, but it yielded several sword-
blades, numerous arrow-heads and ten rings. Some of the latter were
of iron covered with bronze (see Fig. 25), others of bronze gilt (see
Fig. 26), others again of bronze without any trace of precious metal
(Fig. 27), some of bronze with a coating of silver.
On the south side of the same temple are the remains of a double
tumulus which was opened some sixty years ago, when a considerable
quantity of relics were found, some of which are still in the possession
of Kohito Mamichi, the priest in charge. The stones of the tomb were
carried off by some masons to use as building material. I give a list
of the principal articles in this small collection.
No. 29 represents a small vase of black clay, somewhat resembling
No. 9. It has the neck almost entirely covered with the zigzag orna-
ment, and in the band which surrounds the middle of the globe is a
perfectly formed round hole. This vessel is formed so as to stand
steadily on its bottom.
INCHES.
Height 6
" of globe 2.08
Diam. of mouth 6.24
" " globe 4.06
" " throat 1.84
No. 80.
A jar of black clay, resembling Nos. 8 and 5, but differing from
them in having the concentric grooves all over it, both front, back and
sides. The diameter of its flat back is 7.14 inches and its thickness from
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824 satow: asotjbnt sepulchral moutos nr kahdzuke.
back to front 6.9 inches ; diameter of month 8.8 inches. It is difficult
to decide what was the position which this vessel was intended to
assume. It might be hung np by the ears against a wall, or laid flat on
the ground, for its mouth is so near the convex front that it could
still contain a fair quantity of liquid even in that position, but in
either case the ornament at the back would be quite useless. Perhaps
it may have been intended to rest in a stand like those found in the 1st
tumulus. (See figs. 2 and 4.)
In this tumulus, but outside the tomb, were found the following
articles : —
No. 81, the fragment of a vase which, from its rapidly attenuating
form, must have been intended to be planted in the ground.
No. 82.
A jar of reddish rough clay, much scratched and apparently pared
with a knife. It was probably moulded with the hand, and its walls
were then pared to the required degree of thinness. The fractures
show a black clay inside, and the red colour is attributed by the owner
to long exposure to the weather. It was for some time used as a flower-
pot, and a hole was made in the bottom to adapt it to that purpose.
Height 5.
Diam. of lip 5.95
No. 88.
Large jar of light brown colour inside and outside, with black
patches, probably due to irregular action of the fire in the kiln. The
neck is much broken, so that the precise form of that part cannot be
determined.
INCHES.
Height 11.9
Diam. of neck inside 6.07
No. 84.
Yase of pale reddish pottery, with a wide flat lip, the lower part
broken off. The dotted line shows how rapidly the interior tapers to a
point. It probably had a foot like the fragment represented in fig. 27.
But the most interesting piece in this little collection is the bust of
a human figure, which was dug out of the same tumulus, and for a time
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to sleep dreamed each a dream. At daybreak the elder reported to his
father that in his dream he had aseended a certain hill, and turning to
the east, eight times brandished his spear and eight times dealt a blow
with his sword. The yonnger then told his dream in turn. He had
ascended the same hill, and spreading a rope on all sides of him, had
hunted the sparrows that devoured the corn. From these two dreams it
was naturally inferred that the gods intended the elder to be governor
of the Eastern Provinces and the younger to be monarch of the whole
empire. The latter was therefore recognized as heir to the throne, and
the former appointed ruler of the Eastern Provinces. These events took
place in the 48th year of Su-zhiii Ten-wau, which, according to popular
chronology, corresponds to the year 60 B.C., but this date cannot be
accepted with any more confidence than, let us say, the year 1184 B.C.
for the fall of Troy. The son of Toyo-ki-iri hiko was Ya-tsuna-da, who
. was in turn succeeded in the governorship of the east by his son Hiko-
sa-ahima no miko, but the latter died on the way, just after setting out
from the capital to take possession of his office. The Easterners (some
of whom may perhaps have come up to Yamato to meet him) secretly
carried off his body and buried it in the province of Eaudzuke. The
Ni-hofi-gi (from which these notices are taken) goes on to say that
Mi-moro-wake no miko, son of Hiko-sa-shima, was appointed in the
following year to take his father's place. This event is ascribed to the
56th year of Kei-kau Ten-wau or 126 A.D., according to the same
fabulous chronology, and it adds that " the descendants of this prince,
who was a wise and benevolent ruler, exist in the eastern provinces to
this day " (i.e. some time in the 8th century).
If it be admitted that the local tradition which identifies the centra*
tumulus with the burial-place of Mi-moro-wake no miko is authentic,
then the conjecture of Japanese archaeologists that the tumulus in which
so much pottery was found is probably that of Toyo-ki-iri hiko, seems
worthy of acceptance. On the west of Mahebashi, at the village of
Uheno, there was formerly a sepulchral mound said to be that of Toyo-
ki-iri hiko, and in Vol. I. of the Euwan-ko Dzu-setsu Mr. Ninagaha has
figured a beautifully shaped vase found in it about the end of the 18th
century. The ornamentation of this vase so closely resembles that of
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SATOW: ANCIENT SEPULCHRAL MOUNDS IN KAUDZUKE.
the pottery dug up at Ohomuro, that it is impossible not to conclude
that the two mounds were constructed about the same period by people
of the same race. The burial place of Hiko-sa-shima, whose body was
carried off by the inhabitants of this province, still remains to be dis-
covered. The large number of sepulchral tumuli in this part of the
province seems to indicate the site of a town of considerable size, and
on the north of the village of Ohomuro in a commanding situation is a
piece of ground, where it would not be unreasonable to suppose that
the great man of the locality had a fortified residence. It is raised
above the fields on the south, west and east sides, and surrounded
entirely by what was once a moat. Even in those portions of the
moat which have been converted into paddy-fields, the outer bank can still
be traced with unbroken completeness. In adopting the view that these
tumuli are really the burial places of the above-named heroes of antiquity,
I do not at all mean to support the correctness of the Japanese dates,
and the true age of the mounds must be determined by archaeologists
who can give a well-based opinion as to the probable date of the pottery
which they have been found to contain. •
Frequent mention has been made of the ancient Japanese custom of
burying human beings and horses at the tombs of chieftains, for which
clay figures, such as those already described, were afterwards substituted.
The most important passage is in the Ni-hon-gi, Book VI, in the Annals
of Suwi-nin Ten-wan, which I think is worth translating as closely as
possible.
" On the Ka no ye uma day of the 10th moon, the rising of which
was on the Hi no ye tora day,9 the Mikado's uterine younger brother,
Yamato-hiko no Mikoto, died. On the At no to tori day of the
11th moon, the rising of which was on the hi no ye saru day,10 they
buried Yamato-hiko no Mikoto on Tsuki-zaka11 at Musa. On this
they assembled those who had been in his immediate service, and
buried them all upright round his sepulchre alive. For many days
they died not, but day and night wept and cried. At last they
died and rotted. Dogs and crows assembled and ate them. The
9 I.e. the 5th day of the month.
10 I.e. the second day.
"tfrffiJI read ttuki.
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SATOW: ANCIENT SEPULCHRAL MOUNDS IN KAUDZUKB. 825
set tip by the road-side for the entertainment of pilgrims to the temple,
until it suffered so much from the tricks of mischievous village children,
who amused themselves with throwing stones on to it, that the grand-
father of the present owner rescued it from their hands, and placed it in
safety. When first discovered it was a sitting figure complete as far as
the knees, on which rested the hands. The arms are said to have been
clothed in long narrow sleeves, but nothing more seems to be definitely
known about the costume than can be seen from the accompanying fig.
85. The height of the fragment is nearly 14 inches. Its material is a
very hard black clay, and the only traces of moulding are the marks
of some textile fabric on the brim of the hat, by means of which the
required shape was given and maintained while the figure was drying.
I shall not venture to make any comments upon the strange physiognomy
of this bust ; it seems to speak sufficiently for itself. Fig. 86. presents
a view of it from the side.
A very curious fragment of pottery is shown in fig. 87, of dirty
black clay, with the ornament already described as being produced by
means of the knife and blunt points, applied in patches on the surface
of the piece, round which are regularly formed curved depressions, made
after the other pattern had been completed. It is reproduced in the
figure undiminished in size, but is not large enough to afford any clue
to the general shape of the vessel of which it must have formed a part.
It is said to have been dug up in a field, the precise locality of which
was unknown.
Of so-called maga-tama none were found in either of the three
tumuli opened in 1878, but Eohito possesses one of a whitish cornelian,
with an unpolished surface, which he states was found in the tumulus
from which the pottery was derived.
Sepulchral mounds exist also at Kami Dakushi,6 a village between
Isezaki and Sakahi machi on the Mahebashi road, and some highly in-
teresting pieces of ancient pottery obtained from them about sixty or
seventy years ago are now in the possession of a doctor named Suzuki
Eiyou-tai, who lives at Hodzumi, close by Kami Dakushi. These con-
sist, 1st of a human figure in terra cotta (fig. 89), 18 inches high,
with arms and hands complete, and wearing a round-crowned narrow-
6±s± \
vol. vra. 42
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8AT0W: AUCIKNT SBPITLOHBAIi MOUNDS Of _A UDZUJCE.
brimmed hat. The nose has been knocked off, which deprives the face
of its proper expression. The ware is exactly like that of the terra cotta
posts already described, and has the same longitudinal brash-marks.
Secondly, the head of a horse (fig. 40), also in terra cotta, with the
longitudinal brush-marks, and a head-stall moulded on to it, ornamented
with bosses and knobs. These knobs represent small hollow bronze
spheres, with a small loose sphere inside, forming a kind of bell. One
eye has been knocked out, the mane and forelock broken off, and one
ear lopped short. The front length of the face is about 17 inches.
From the appearance of the back, it seems most likely that the complete
figure included the neck. Besides these two figures, there is a tube-post
of terra cotta with the brush-marks, the top of which is broken, height
19.16 inches, diameter 5.7 inches, the hole for the cross-bar being near
the top (fig. 41). I was assured by the persons who exhibited these
things to me that there are several tumuli at Kami Dakushi still un-
touched, but I had no time to visit the locality.
No inscription of any kind has been found at these mounds which
would help in discovering the names of the persons buried in them,
but local tradition appears to afford a clue to their identity. In the
"Catalogue of Families,"7 there is abundant evidence to show
that at a very early period an offshoot of the imperial family had
received the eastern part of Japan for its appanage, and this house
seems to have afterwards divided into two branches called Princes
(kimi) of Kaudzuke and Shimotsuke,8 from which sprang many other
families. The first ancestor of them all was Toyo-ki-iri hiko, elder
brother of the Iku-me-iri hiko, who afterwards became Mikado, and is
known in history as Suwi-nin Ten-wau. A legend narrated in the
Ni-hon-gi tells how their father loved both in such equal measure that
he could not decide which of them to make his heir, and he resolved
therefore to let each tell him a dream, from which he would obtain
auguries to guide his choice. The two princes, having received his
_____
8 Or Kami-tsu-ke-nu and Shimo-tsu-ke-nu, as they were called when that
" Catalogue " was compiled.
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SATOW: ANCIENT 8BPULCHHAL HOUNDS IN XAUDZUHE. 881
Hani-ski seems to have been the common word for potter in ancient
times. In the Wa-miyau Sen (abt. 960) twelve villages in Kahachi,
Idzumi, Kami-tsu-ke-nu, Shimo-tsu-ke-nu, Tanba, Inaba, Bi-zen, Aha
(in Shi-koku), Chiku-zen and Chiku-go are mentioned which take
their name Hani-shi, Heshi or Hashi from the potting industry.
It does not appear that the practice of killing servants and horses
at the grave of a prince, or great man, was completely done away with
by the invention of clay images as a substitute. As late as the year
646 (which is in the historical period) the reigning Mikado found it
necessary to issue some sumptuary regulations with regard to funerals,
and prohibit cruel and useless slaughter of this very kind. The passage
is [extremely interesting, because it gives the dimensions of the vaults
and of the mounds that might be raised over them in the case of all
degrees of persons from grandsons of the Mikado and his high officers
down to the common people. For instance, a prince might be buried in
a vault 9 feet long and 5 feet wide within, covered by a mound 72 feet
feet square and 40 feet high. A thousand labourers might be employed
in the construction, and the work was to be completed in 7 days. The
vault for a functionary of the highest rank was to be of the same
dimensions, but the mound was to be only 56 feet square and 24 feet
high, while only half the number of labourers was allowed. A prince
was to be borne to the grave in a car ; a high functionary on the
shoulders of bearers. The common people had to be buried in the
ground on the day of their death, and no mound could be raised over
the grave. Up to that time the dead had been buried just where the
family found it most convenient, but it was now ordered that special
cemeteries should be set apart for their reception. The decree proceeds
to say : " Let there be complete cessation of all such ancient practices as
strangling one's self to follow the dead, or strangling others to make them
follow the dead, or of killing the dead man's horse, or burying treasures
in the tomb for the dead man's sake, or cutting the hair, or stabbing the
thigh, or wailing for the dead man's sake." And another copy of the
edict contained the additional sentence : " Bury not gold, silver, brocade,
diaper or any kind of variegated thing." 17 This passage may perhaps be
of some use in determining a minimum age for the burial mounds of
wNi-hofi-gi, bk. xxv.
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882 satow: ANCIENT sbpulghbal mounds in kaudzttke.
Ohomuro and Ohoya, for as they are not constructed in conformity
with the roles here laid down as to size and form, and contained, besides,
gold and silver, and many articles that would be classed as " treasures,"
it may not unreasonably be inferred that they are older than 646, the date
of the edict. And if local tradition should be right, they are much older
than this period.
There is an amusing little story in the Annals of Yuu-riyaku Ten-
wau (bk. xiv. of the Ni-hon-gi), whose reign is placed between 457 and
479 A. D., which illustrates the practice of burying clay images at these
mounds. A certain man, riding near a tumulus, fell in with another
mounted on a very swift horse of a red colour, which took his fancy
immensely. Becoming desirous of obtaining the animal for himself, he
started in pursuit, but could by no means overtake the stranger, who at
length divining his wish, stopped short till he came up, and then offered
to exchange. The cavalier of course accepted with great joy, and
returning home put his new acquisition into the stable. On visiting it
next morning, what was his astonishment to find the animal transformed
into a clay figure, but going again to the spot where he had met with
the adventure, he found his own steed among the clay horses of the
tumulus, and, it is needless to say, lost no time in resuming possession
of it.
In concluding these notes I have great pleasure in acknowledging my
obligations to Mr. Shinagaha, the Assistant Vice- Minister of the Interior,
and to Mr. Oki Moritaka, cjiief secretary of the Gun-ba prefecture, for
giving me every facility for visiting the mounds and having sketches
made of their contents, as well as to Mr. Hasegaha Kiyomi, who accom-
panied me from Mahebashi to Ohomuro, and to my excellent host the
village elder, Mr. Negishi Zhifu-zhi-rau, in whose house the collection
is kept.
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8AT0W: ANCIENT SEFULCHBAL MOUNDS IN KATJDZTOB.
Mikado, hearing the sound of their weeping and crying, felt saddened
and pained in his heart. He commanded all his high officers, saying :
• It is a very painful matter to force those whom one has loved daring
life to follow him in death, and though it is an ancient custom, why
follow it, if it be bad ? From now and henceforth, plan so as to stop
causing [men] to follow the dead.'
" In the autumn of the 32nd year, on the tsuchi no to u dayu of
the moon, which rose on the kino ye inu day, the empress Hi-ba-su
hime no Mikoto (in another source called Hi-ba-su ne no Mikoto) died,
and they were several days going to bury her.13 The Mikado com-
manded all his high officers, saying : * We knew before that the practice
of following the dead is not good. In the case of the present burying,
what shall be done?' Thereupon Nomi14 no Sukune advanced and
said : ' It is not good to bury living men standing at the sepulchre of a
prince, and this cannot be handed down to posterity. I pray leave now
to propose a convenient plan, and to lay this before the sovereign.* And
he sent messengers to summon up a hundred of the clay- workers' tribe
of the country of Idzumo, and he himself directed the men of the clay-
workers' tribe in taking clay and forming shapes of men, horses and
various things, and presented them to the Mikado, saying : * From now
and henceforward let it be the law for posterity to exchange things of
clay for living men, and set them up at sepulchres.' Thereupon the
Mikado rejoiced, and commanded Nomi no Sukune, saying : ' Thy ex-
pedient plan has truly pleased Our heart;' and the things of clay
were for the first time set up at the tomb of Hi-ba-su hime no
Mikoto. Wherefore these things were called hanitca (a circle of clay).1*
Then he sent down an order, saying : ' From now and henceforward,
be sure to set up these things of clay at sepulchres, and let not men be
"I.e. the 6th of the month.
"I.e. several days elapsed before the funeral.
14 Some read this name Numi, bat Nomi is usual.
u A gloss in the original runs : " Another name is Tate-mono" i.e. things set
up. The Wa-miyau Sen (Bk. XIV, F. 210.) defines Hani-wa as " human figures
made of day, placed upright like a cart wheel round the edge of a sepulchral mound."
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880 SATOW: ANCUNT SSPULCHBAL MOUHDS IK KAUBZUKB.
Blab/ The Mikado bountifully praised Nomi no Sukune, bestowed on
him a kneading-place, and appointed him to the charge of the clay-
workers1 tribe."
In the year 781 fifteen members of the tribe presented a memorial
recalling the great services of their ancestor Nomi no Sukune, in which
they say: "In the reign of Suwinin Teii-wau, ancient customs still
prevailed and funeral ceremonies were ill-regulated. Whenever a death
occurred, it was the general custom to bury other persons along with
the deceased. When the empress died and the mortuary hut was still
in the courtyard, the emperor took counsel with his high officers, and
asked them how the empress should be buried. The high officers replied
that the ancient precedent of Yamato-hiko no Mikoto should be rigidly
followed, whereupon your servants' ancestor Nomi no Sukune spoke out
and said that, as far as his foolish opinion went, the custom of burying
others with the deceased was contrary to the principles of humane
government, which aimed at profiting the state and promoting the
advantage of the people. He consequently brought some 800 clay-
workers, and he himself directed them in taking clay and forming images
of various things, which he presented to the Mikado. The Mikado
greatly rejoiced, and had them substituted for the men who followed the
deceased. They were called hard-vca, and also tate-mono (things set up) . * >u
In the Ko-zhi-ki the notices of this custom are extremely brief, but
they refer to the same two persons as those in the Ni-hoii-gi. Of
Yamato-hiko it is simply said : " At the [funeral] time of this prince
a fence of men was for the first time set up at a sepulchre." Taking
this, together with the expression " ancient precedent of Yamato-hiko,"
used in the memorial of the clay- workers' tribe, Motowori's conclusion
that, although the custom of burying servants in company with their
dead master was of ancient date, the funeral of this prince was the
first occasion on which such a large number were sacrificed, seems
reasonable enough.
The other reference in the Ko-zhi-ki tells us very little. It merely
says: "Also at the [funeral] time of his chief consort, Hi-ba-su hime
no Mikoto, they appointed the stone-coffin makers, and also appointed
the clay-workers' tribe."
uBhiyoku Ni-hoii-gi $ B jfc ft, bk. 89, f. 44v.
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( 888 )
THE HISTORY OF JAPANESE COSTUME,
By Josiah Condeb, M. R. I. B. A.
[Read May 11, 1880.]
JAPANESE COSTUME.— COURT DRESS.
No apology is needed for bringing into notice the subject of the
costume of the Japanese, and yet there are not a few reasons why a
short explanation of its interest and importance might be advisable.
With regard to the modes of dress worn by our own ancestors during
the middle ages and succeeding periods, very little was actually known
until comparatively recent years. The works of several authors giving
us the results of their researches among old pictures and manuscripts,
and the careful examination of ancient monuments have given us at length
an authentic history of European costume. Up to that time the
writings of historians and romancers, the historical paintings of artists,
and more particularly the representations in our theatres, were full of
ludicrous anachronisms in points of architecture, dress and equipment.
It was not uncommon for Greek, Roman, or Mediaeval celebrities to be
presented to the public in the scenes and clothing peculiar only to
Elizabethan or Jacobean times. All must appreciate the importance
of the drama as a portrayer of the events and characters of history,
and in the exhibitions of dramatic art truth and correctness in matters
of attire are of the highest importance.
To the painter, historian, romancer and actor of Japanese incidents,
an understanding of the subject of this paper may be considered as
indispensable.
vol. vra. 43
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884 condee: the histoby of Japanese costume.
Farther, the costume of any country or any period of fashion has a
more intimate connection with other points of interest, such as habit,
climate, and even physique, than would at first sight appear to be the
case. And an understanding of such necessary subordination is sufficient
to account for the absurdities noticeable in a country changing its long
established costume, or among foreigners resident in such a country
when assuming a dress which they are unable to wear in other but a
ludicrous manner. A great French archaeologist and artist has expressed
himself on the subject in the following terms :l " With each important
modification in dress the deportment of the wearers and the manner of
holding the arms change. It is evident, for example, that very ample
robes and long sleeves oblige one to hold the elbows to the body and to
walk in a certain manner, so as not to entangle the legs in the folds,
whereas on the other hand close fitting garments compel one to hold the
arms at some distance from the body and to walk with the legs close.
The belt tightened to the waist occasions the bending of the loins and a
prominence of the chest. It results from this, that, observed from the
distance of several centuries, or even of several decades, the people of
one epoch appear to have among themselves certain points of resem-
blance, Without going further back, for example, the women of the
first Empire have an air of family likeness which one cannot fail to
"notice in studying the best portraits of the period. It is the same in all
periods of fashion. A cavalier or a lady of the time of Louis XEH. was
not of the same type as was a cavalier or a lady under Frances I.
These physical differences grow out of the fashions, or, to speak more
correctly, out of the physical types which best ally themselves with each
fashion and which, to a certain extent, impose their adoption and mode
upon all. If it be the fashion to have short waists, the people who have
long waists do all that is possible to correct this relative defect : though
not having that grace in their movements which one finds in those
naturally formed for the reigning mode, still by the study and imitation
of that which is considered good they attain to some extent the result
sought for. One might call this the physiology of costume. With
regard to the habit of wearing long or short clothes, this again has on
the physique a distinct and marked influence. It seems hardly necessary
1Pictionnaire du Mobilier Fran^ais, Violet le Due,
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oondbb: the HISTOBY OF JAPANESE COSTUME. 886
to insist upon the connection between raiment and physique, since we
can any day see proofs of it. One can recognize the military man in
civilian's dress by his gait and movements alone ; in the same way we
can distinguish an ecclesiastic, and it is but few barristers who wear
their robes in other than a ridiculous fashion. Not living habitually in
his gown, which he dons in the courts, his movements and gestures are
in entire disaccord with the dress that he pleads in. He hauls and
shifts about the folds of his robe in such a manner as to give one the
impression that he is labouring to escape from under a black cloth.
How many actors fail to train their physique in accord with the costumes
imposed upon them by their role t It is certain that Agamemnon had
neither the gait, gestures nor fashion of behaviour of Charles V."
A study of the costume of Japan, as it has existed with but slight
changes through many centuries, will reveal a remarkable suitability
to physical conditions as well as to climate and habits of life: it,
however, naturally follows that changes in custom and habits should
bring about changes in costume. To allude merely to one small point,
the Japanese mode of sitting has in itself rendered comfortable and shewy
certain styles of attire which would have been cumbersome, inconvenient
and ugly, and therefore logically incorrect, if worn by people using chairs
and couches. The reverse also holds good, and one can well understand
how the modern yakunin is only too glad to doff his official clothes when
lounging in the comfort of his own home. Perhaps there is no country
in the world, unless it be China, in which such great importance has
been attached to the minutin of dress as has been done in Japan. Not
only the form and cut has been fixed according to station and rank, but
rules of colour, pattern, fabric, and even such trivial matters as the
plaits of a cord or the loops of a bow have been most strictly fixed.
The inviolable restrictions of rank and of caste also, as in all countries
during a state of feudal government, has rendered imperative distinctions
in the clothing of the various classes of the people. It would have
been impossible in Japan, as indeed it was in Europe during the middle
ages, for servants to assume the left-off finery of their masters. Each
class, as may even now be noticed in some parts of the Western con-
tinent, had its distinctive style of costume. The broad distinctions,
however, of king, courtier, soldier, priest, merchant and peasant have
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886 oondbb: the history of jaj*nese costume.
been in Japan so very comprehensive, including so many minor sub-
divisions of rank and so many individual rights, that each a classification
is alone insufficient when applied to the subject of modes of attire. It
is only natural to suppose that during the many centuries of Japanese
civilization there should have been considerable changes in the customs
of clothing among the people ; and yet, on the contrary, from the time
of the establishment of fixed ranks and rules of ceremonial founded
upon those of Ohina, very few important modifications seem to have
taken place. If we refer for comparison to the development of the
modes of costume in European countries from the time of Charlemagne
to the period of the Renaissance, an epoch which for gorgeous ceremonial
and feudal vassalage, as well as for the ostentatiousness of ceremonial
dress, may be well chosen as a parallel, we find that each century
exhibited a great change, sometimes quite revolutionary, in the forms of
costume from the highest to the lowest classes. It is probable, more-
over, that changes in minor points of shape and of toilet took place at
the same time with almost the same rapidity as is to be observed at the
present day in our ever-changing fashions. Japan seems to have
remained far more conservative ; and from the period to which reliable
history takes us back, when a well established form of government and
complicated ceremonial existed, up to the present day, there have been
no revolutionary changes and very few minor modifications in the styles
of dress. The minor changes referred to consist chiefly of rights con-
ferred upon nobles and gentlemen to assume articles of dress or colours,
materials or patterns in their clothing which had hitherto been confined
in their use to their superiors ; also in more recent times there appears
to have grown up a kind of laxity in the observance of ceremonial
minutiae resulting in the use of forms of costume by those who originally
had no right to assume them.
Such conferments of Imperial favour and irregularities in following
ancient ritual appear to have been the only way in which changes were
produced. Certain books upon antiquarian subjects give descriptions and
drawings of various articles and forms of dress which in later times have
become obsolete. Such a book is the Kot-to-shu, and in this there are to
be found explanations of several ancient forms in the popular clothing as
well as such matters as hair-dressing and toilet, which later fashions seem
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oondeb: the kktcobv of Japanese costume- 88?
to have changed. Sach modifications, however, appear to have been very
Blow and insignificant. The Imperial decrees fixing the costume of
the nobles and office bearers according to rank, naturally imposed no
restrictions preventing fluctuations modifying the character of the clothing
of the middle and lower classes. There were, however, and still are,
among these classes other influences rendering such modifications few
and far between.
The seclusion of Japan had much to do with the conservatism q£
old established customs. The frequent changes in costume in other
countries are mainly due to the intercourse with other nations and the
tendency to imitate and adopt their example.
Among those nations of the European continent which took the
lead and set the fashion to the others, the adoption of new modes was
in the main arbitrary or fanciful, but may in many cases be accounted
for by the influence that literary revivals and studies from the ancients
and from modern and foreign peoples had upon the public taste.
Japan has, on the other hand, until recent years, held little intercourse
with any country except China, a country perhaps more conservative
and unchangeable in its tastes than Japan itself. It is not to be
wondered at, then, that having fixed upon a costume fitted to its
ceremonial and the demands of its climate and customs, the forms
instituted should remain for many centuries uninfluenced by the fluctua-
tion of changing fashions. The general shapes of the popular dress
being established, there still remained plenty of room far variety and
individuality in the variation of colours, patterns, and modes of arrange-
ment, such as the bow of the old, the length of sleeves, and manner
of hair-dressing. Within certain limits, however, such variations have
been governed by social conventions seldom if ever violated. Each age
in manhood and womanhood has its special distinction in colour and
arrangement, which habit and the fear of public- ridicule prevents the
most ambitious dandy or coquette from transgressing. As an instance
of this it may be noted that every lady in Japan shews within a few
years the period of her life in the respective arrangements and forms of
her attire and her toilet.
The subject of this paper necessarily divides itself into several
parts. The civil, ecclesiastic, and military drew are each of them
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888 OONDBB : THE HISTOEY OF JAPANESE COSTUME.
distinct and require to be considered separately. The Shi-zoku or
Samurai having been virtually always armed, their civil and military
dress merge, and it will be sufficient to classify under the division of
military costume, armour and such arms as were not carried in private
life and used only in time of war. From the civilian's dress, whether it be
that of the noble or the samurai in his official or private life, the sword
is inseparable. Again, it is necessary to describe respectively the dresses
of the two sexes in each class, as well as distinctions made in the attire
of children. In considering the subject of the civilian costume of the
Japanese, that of the nobles takes the first place, and under this head
we shall treat of not only the ht-ge or nobles of Imperial blood, but also
the Sho-guns, and Dai-miyds, who as far as certain ceremonial rights and
styles of attire were concerned, were equal with the highest prince of the
land. The term Kuwa-zoku might be used as including these different
dignities under one nomenclature, but the term is a modern one and
may be objected to by some scholars as being ill defined.
NOBLES.— MALE ATTIRE.
The distinctive differences in attire among the nobles were fixed
according to the rank. The different ranks were formally established in
the reign of Kd-toku Ten-no, about the year 650 A.D., in correspon-
dence with those of the Chinese Empire.
They constitute in all nine ranks, some divided into two and others
into four grades, making in all thirty different grades of rank. The first,
Sho-ichi-i, was rarely bestowed upon nobles during life-time, but was
often given as a posthumous rank to the deceased. Those not yet
possessing rank were called Mu-i. There were other ranks of a higher
class bestowed upon the Emperor's nearest relatives, including the heir
to the throne, who were called Shin-no. These ranks were denoted by
the terms Ip-pon Shin-no, Ni hon Shin-no ', Sam bon Shin-no, Shi hon
Shin-no. Those among these royal princes upon whom rank was not
yet bestowed were called Mu-hon.
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condeb: the exbtobt of japambsb oostumb.
This title of Shin-no was on some rare occasions bestowed npon the
Sho-guns, who had no claim to royal blood, as a very special favour
from the Emperor ; in many cases the Sho-gun received the highest
rank of a noble that was possible during life, namely Ju-ichi-i.
Japanese histories contain frequent references to the official titles of
the dignitaries of the government and the offices or departments to which
they belong. The ranks corresponding to these official titles varied at
various periods and with the merits of the holder, but for the most part
they may be taken as correctly represented in the Supplement to
Klaproth's " Annales des Dairis."
Again, in addition to the distinction of forms, colours, and patterns
of clothing according to rank and to office, there were other regulations
fixing the style of dress for particular occasions of ceremony. The chief
of these ceremonial occasions were as follows : —
Jo-i : Appointment of an heir to the throne.
Go 8oku-i : Ceremony of accession.
Dai-jo-ye : Large public ceremony of accession.
Gem-buku: Arrival at manhood of Emperor or heir.
Shi-ho-hai : Religious ceremony on the first day of the new year, on
which occasion the Emperor visits the temple shrines within the
palace.
On-ha-gatame : Congratulatory offering of rice cake to the Emperor.
Sho-chd'hai : Ceremony at twilight on the first day of the new year, on
which occasion the Dai-jin meet and feast with the Emperor.
Cho-gu: Religious ceremony on the morning of the first day of the new
year, on which occasion the Emperor, Dai-jin and Ku-ge meet the
Emperor at the Dai-goku den.
Sechi-ye : Visit to the Shi-shin-den and meeting and feasting with the
court on the first day of the new year after the Sho-cho-hai, in the
evening.
On Cho no Hajime : Ceremony on the fourth day of the new year in
honour of the Imperial buildings. The court meets at the Nai-shi
dokoro, wearing Kariginu, and two carpenters wearing suwo go
through the ceremony of plaining wood.
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840 oohdsb': the histoby of japakssh oostomb.
Sm-shu Ban-zai ; Visit on the fifth day of the first month to the Sei-rio-
den, where the Man-zai dance is performed before the Emperor.
Nanakusa no ma : Ceremony on the 7th day of the 1st month, consisting
in the offering to the Emperor of seven different pickled herbs
significant of good health throughout the year.
Haku-ba no Sechi-ye : Ceremony on the 7th day of the 1st month, on
which occasion a white horse is conducted through the grounds in
sight of the Emperor.
Miyuki no Hajime : The first visit of the Emperor of the year outside
the palace in which visits are paid to the palaces of the Imperial
Princes.
San-gi cho ; Ceremony on the fifteenth day of the 1st month, being the
occasion of the burning of the first manuscript of the year written
by the Emperor. The idea of this ceremony seems to be that the
ashes of the burnt paper, ascending to heaven, may bring a blessing
of skill upon the hand of the writer.
Toka no Sechi-ye : Ceremony on the sixteenth day of the 1st month, with
songs and feasting, this being the first day after the close of the
New Year ceremonies.
Dai-jin Tai-kiyo : Ceremony on the 11th day of the 1st month, on which
day the Dai-jin are received and feasted by the Emperor at the
Tsune go-ten.
Nat-yen : Ceremony on the 21st and 22nd day of the first month, on
which occasion the Imperial relatives are received by the Emperor
at the palace and feasted.
Rek-ken: Ceremony on the 7th day of the second month, on which
occasion the Emperor, visiting the Dai-jo-kuwan, an examination
and rewarding of those holding ranks below roku-i takes place.
Kaeuga Mateuri : Religious festival in honour of the gods of the temple
of Easuga, commencing on the first saru no hi of the 2nd month
and lasting three days.
8eki-ten : Ceremony in honour of the Confucian Sages, when their portrait
pictures are exhibited, taking place on the first hinoto no hi of the
2nd month.
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coudsb: the history of Japanese costume. 841
Ko-i : Ceremony of robing in summer clothes on the 1st day of the
4th month.
Kamo aoi Matsuri : Festival to the gods of Kamo, when sacred grass is
worn in the hat, taking place on the second tori no hi of the fourth
month.
Hachi-man Jid-jd-ye : Religious festival to the gods of Hachi-man from
the 18th to the 16th day of the 8th month.
Wa-ka no On kuwai : Ceremony and feast to the Emperor offered by the
princes and nobles on the 9th day of the 9th month.
Shin-jo-ye : Harvest festival on the second U no hi of the 11th month.
Toyo no akari no Sechi-ye: Ceremony on the day following the Shin-jo-ye,
the eating of the first fruits by the Emperor.
Go-setm no Mai : Festival on the first ushi no hi of the 11th month,
with dancing and feasting.
HO.
The garment called Ho is the principal robe or upper tunic which
was worn as the ceremonial dress of the Emperor and nobles. It is of
very ancient origin, having been made in the first instance of silk
specially imported from China (about 800 A.D.) by female Chinese
seamstresses who were hired and brought to Japan for the purpose.
There are many different names given to this robe according to its
colour, the pattern of the silk or differences in cut. The general name
given to the principal shape used among the highest ranks is Hd-yeki Ho,
It consists of a loose oblong body reaching some little way below the
knees and having a border at the bottom about 8 inches deep, which
widens at the two sides in such a way as to form two large flaps called
" ran." It has deep loose sleeves about 2 feet long. The whole length,
as would be supposed, varied with the wearer, but figured drawings
give a length of 4 feet 8 inches as the most ordinary size. In the front
the Ho was closed by folding over from left to right and was secured by
a tight collar fastened by a silk cord. Behind, at the level of the waist,
was formed a loose square flap or pocket to allow of a belt being -tied up
vol. vm. 44
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842 condeb: the history of Japanese costume,
under it ; this was called the kaka-bukuro. The wearing of this robe,
though originally granted as a special favour from the Emperor to a few,
became eventually common to all classes of nobles, the different ranks
being distinguished by the special colours, the quality of material, and
the pattern of the ornament. Each rank, moreover, had the privilege of
using one of two or three colours, according to the occasion. The
Emperor's ceremonial Ho is said to have bcpn of a yellowish brown-
coloured damask, with embroidery representing the kiri tree (fcawlonia
imperialis), bamboo and kirin (a fictitious animal resembling the unicorn),
the pattern being repeated twenty-four times. It was made very thin in
the summer, but in the winter was rendered thick by lining. The colour
for a Prince of the Blood (Shinnd) was yellow, or in some cases pale
greenish blue (asagi). The colour for the highest class of Eu-ge, including
also an Emperor dowager, was deep purple; the retired Emperor,
however, sometimes wore a red Ho. The second and third classes wore
light purple. The fourth class wore deep red. The fifth class wore light
red. For the sixth class a dark green colour was appointed and an
inferior material called " kinu " or common silk. The seventh class
wore a Ho of the same material but of a light green colour, and the 8th
class a deep blue colour (hana-iroj. The ninth or lowest class wore a
Ho of silk or fine hemp cloth dyed of a light bjue colour. All nobles
above and inclusive of the fourth rank were permitted to wear a black
damask Ho instead of their coloured one. For ordinary occasions not
ceremonial other colours ware fixed according to the rank : the first to
the fifth class wearing red, the sixth class brighter red, the seventh class
light purple grey (midori), the eighth class wore a bright blue and the
9th or lowest class a light blue Ho.
KETTEKI HO.
Another kind of Ho called the Ketteki Ho was often used. It
differed from the Ho-yeki Ho in being slit on both sides from the sleeves
downwards, having no bottom flaps. This robe somewhat resembled a
garment called the hariginu, to be afterwards described. It was worn
by the son of an Emperor and certain of the nobles ; and more seldom
by the Emperor himself, The front half of the skirt of this robe was
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EMPEBOB.— ORDINAKY COSTUME.
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condeb: the bistort o* Japanese costume. 848
worn drawn up so as to fold over the belt at the middle, forming a flap
loop at the waist and causing the front half of the skirt to appear shorter
than the back. The Ketteki Ho was worn by the Emperor's military
guards, called Dzui-jin.
KASANE OR SHITA-GASANE.
The Kasane or Shita-gasane was a loose tunic short in the front,
slit up at the sides, having the hinder portion prolonged into a long
train which trailed upon the ground. This robe was folded over in the
front, leaving the throat open in the manner of an ordinary Japanese
gown. The length of the train varied with the rank of the wearer, and
was either allowed to trail behind when walking or was gathered up and
held in one hand. The front of the Kasane y which hung down in two flaps,
was turned up under a belt, or sometimes was made quite short. The
train was eventually separated from the tunic to save trouble, being in
one single piece, which could be tied on under the tunic or Kasane. It,
however, always corresponded with the Kasane in material and colour.
The skirt or train, when separate, was called the Kiyo or the Shita-
gasane no Shita, and its length was according to rank. The Dai-jo
Dai-jin wore a train 14 or 15 feet long, the Dai-na-gon's train was 12
or 18 feet long, that of the Chiu-na-gon was 12 feet, that of the San-gi
was 8 feet, and for the 4th rank the Kiyo was 7 feet. In old age it was
made short, regardless of rank, being only about 4 feet long. The body
of this garment, when separated from the skirt, was made quite short,
only reaching to the waist, and the deep sleeves were partly slit up from
below to give more freedom in the use of the arms. This shortened
portion became known sometimes by the name of Hitoye.
The material used for the Shita-gasane was silk damask, and the
ordinary colour was white, with a woven pattern, and it was lined with the
same material of a black or red colour. Green and light purple were less
frequent colours, and were mostly used by youths. This garment was
worn under the Ho or upper robe, by which it was mostly hidden, the
Kiyo or train appearing below it behind, and the edge of the wide
sleeves shewing below the sleeves of the upper robe.
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844 OONDEB : THE HISTOBT 07 JAPANESE COSTUME.
AKOME.
The Akome was a short garment worn generally immediately be-
low the Hitoye or Shita-gasane. It was sometimes worn instead of the
Hitoye, immediately under the Ho or Hitatare, which will be afterwards
described. The usual colour was white, bnt sometimes it was red.
Youths generally wore an Akome of a light yellow colour. This garment
seems to have been mostly worn in the winter and spring time, and was
dispensed with in the hot weather, except during certain ceremonies,
when its employment was imperative.
HAPPI.
Immediately under the Ho was often worn a short sleeveless
garment called Happi, which was entirely hidden, but was .stiffly starched
so as to cause the upper robe to bulge out and look very full. The use
of this dress was confined to ranks above and inclusive of the fifth
class. Young men often wore a red Happi with large sleeves.
O EATABIRA.
Below the above mentioned garments was worn a tunic or shirt
called the 0 Katabira, often going by the name of Ase tori (lit. sweat-
absorber) when worn in the summer time. It was generally of a thin
white material, having an edging of red silk at the sleeves and three
distinct edgings of different colours at the collar to give the idea of
three separate garments. The splendour of ceremonial clothing greatly
consisted in the number and fullness of the robes, and trifling deceptions
of this kind are often practiced to give to a single nnder-robe the
appearance of several, by doubling it at the sleeves or collar, where
it is alone visible. The triple-edged collar was white on the outside,
black in the middle and red on the inside. In the summer for the sake
of coolness the O Katabira was worn without the Hitoye, and being
more exposed was red in colour and worn with Hakama, a kind of loose
trowsers, — the two being of the same material.
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HAEAMA.
The upper tonic or Ho, as before observed, reached only a short
distance below the knees, and the other garments were shorter still,
excepting of course the tail or train of the Shita-ga$ane. Below these,
to form an efficient covering for the legs, were worn a kind of loose
browsers or skirt called Hakama, and of this garment there were several
kinds.
UYE NO BAKAMA.
The ceremonial Hakama employed by the highest ranks on important
occasions went by the name of Uye no Bahama or upper Hakama.
The Uye no Bahama were a kind of straight wide trowsers, reaching
to the ankles, being very full and gathered into plaits at the loins, where
they were secured by wide bands of silk attached to the top. They were
generally of white silk damask, figured with some pattern and lined
with red silk, and were worn with the shirt or OKatabira.
RED SILK HAKAMA.
Under this garment was invariably worn a pair of plain red silk
Hahama of the same shape, but a little longer, so as to show edgings
of red silk just below the legs of the Uye no Bahama. These Hahama
were always worn by the Emperor, princes and nobles at the most
important ceremonies, and were often replaced on less important occasions
by Hahama of a different kind called Nu-bahama.
NU-BAKAMA OK SASHI-NUKI.
The Nu-hakama differed from the Uye no Bahama in being longer and
fuller in the legs and threaded through at the bottom with silk tape, by
means of which the bottoms could be drawn in tight over the ankles,
causing them to hang in a loose baggy manner over the boots. The
Nu-bakama, or Sashi-nuki, as they were sometimes called, were worn in
times of hunting and amusement, being found more convenient. The
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846 condeb: thb msTOBY of Japanese costume.
colour, material and pattern varied with the rank and the age of the
wearer, sometimes damask, sometimes common silk, and often commoner
material still was used. The colour was commonly purple, a lighter-
toned purple being used by the younger wearers.
SHITA-BAKAMA.
Below the Nu-bakama were worn the Shita-bakama or under trowsers,
which were of the same shape and size as the former, with the difference
of having no gathering cord at the bottom. When the Nu-bakama were
worn the Shita-bakama was folded in by hand, whilst the cord of the
Nu-bakama was fastened below it and it was thus perfectly hidden. In
private life in-doors the Shita-bakama were sometimes worn alone
without the Nu-bakama, and in this case they covered the feet and
dragged behind, presenting a very awkward appearance and considerable
difficulty in walking, but a form quite common among the Japanese and
to be seen in the Naya-bakama or long trowsers of the samurai. In
this case no socks or boots were worn. A drawing given represents
the Emperor in his summer private dress, with red Shita-bakama* [See
Fig. II.] The colour of this garment was invariably red.
KAMMITEI.
With the before-mentioned garments was always worn some kind
of ceremonial head- covering. The use of the Kammuri, as this head
covering was called, is said to have been fixed in the year 594, and was
at this time bestowed upon certain nobles of the Emperor's court. At
this time it was divided into twelve different class distinctions, and
these varieties peculiar to particular ranks increased up to the number
of forty-eight, until after the era of the Emperor Tem-mu (686 A.D.),
when the old style and classification ceased. Again an imitation of the
old style of hat with fewer distinctions was revived in the year 690,
under the Empress Ji-to, when the ceremonial head-covering of the
nobles became broadly divided into two kinds, according to the nature
of material of which it was made, the distinguishing names being Atsu-
bitai or thick crown and Usu-bitai or thin crown. These caps consisted
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oondsb: the hxbtobt of Japanese costume. 847
of a small round crown or scull cap, very shallow, with a raised hollow
horn towards the back, somewhat like a beaver's tail in shape, into
which passed the cue of the hair. In order to understand the logic of
the Japanese Kammuri, it is necessary to know the mode of doing the
hair, which consisted in shaving the front of the skull and drawing
the rest of the hair back into a top-knot behind. This top-knot became
a stiff hard cue, being rendered compact by oil, and was bound and bent
back so as to stand vertically on the back of the head. The Kammuri
shows distinctly its origin from a loose cloth drawn over the crown and
folded round the cue, to which it was secured by a large ornamental
pin (kanzashi), leaving two ends hanging down behind. This early
form may be seen in old drawings.
Within historic times, however, this covering became a stiff hat,
formed of some starched or varnished material, still preserving as a
part of its ornament two projections, one on each side of the cue holder,
representing the hairpin, and used for the purpose of tying the hat to the
head by means of a silk cord wound round them. The Usu-bitai or thin-
crowned cap was of thin silk crape, having a orescent-shaped hole in
the crown, lined with thinner white silk crape, probably for ventilation.
The Atsu-bitai was made of a thicker starched or varnished material.
YEI.
To the back of the raised hollow horn of the Kammuri was fixed a
double pennant called the Yei, of thin material. Originally this pennan^
was of paper, but latterly a kind of silk crape or gauze was employed.
It was about a foot and a half long and two inches wide, and the method
of wearing it differed. Only the Emperor could wear it standing straight
up over the head, and even he wore it thus only on state occasions.
The mode of wearing adopted by high rank Ku-ge, and the Emperor
himself on semi-official occasions, was one in which the ribbon rose up
a few inches vertically and then curved over behind, where it hung
limp. Another method was to let it fall over as before and then curl it
round at the back of the hat, threading it under the cord by means of
which the hat was tied on to the head, and securing it further by a
wooden peg.
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848 conder: the history of Japanese costume.
There were many different modes of curling the Yd, the distinctions
being peculiar to different noble families and called after these families.
Such forms were the Nakayama ke no Makiyei, Kitwajtiji ke no Malay ei,
Niwata ke no Makiyei, Yabu, ke no Makiyei, Konoye ke no Makiyei, and
Yamashina ke no Makiyei. In some cases the Yei was curled oyer
in front of the horn of the Kammuri, and held in position by a cloth tied
round the whole and falling loosely behind over the neck ; or else by a
stiff piece of paper slit in the middle and passed over it. The first of
these methods was called the Gosaku kammuri and the latter the
Kin&huhigami kammwri.
There is another method used by some of the higher ranks called
Koshika-basami. Such head-covering as that just mentioned, as well as
the Yeboski, which will be afterwards described, hardly held the place
in Japan that hats do in Europe — as a shelter from the weather — for
which purpose, indeed, they were insufficient on account of their small
size and their material.
They were worn as a part of the ceremonial dress both indoors and
out of doors, and were not even removed in the royal presence. They
are entirely distinct from the military hat or helmet, and from the kasa or
rain and sun-shade, which was a very wide hat worn by farmers, coolies,
or the poorer classes more exposed to the weather. The Emperor and
nobles carried a fan for protection from the heat of the sun.
YEBOSHI.
Another kind of cap worn by the nobles on ordinary occasions not
ceremonial was the Yeboshu There were many kinds of Yeboski, arranged
according to the rank of the wearer and the importance of the occasions.
This hat consists of a conical- shaped bag, somewhat like a brewer's
cap, which was put on the head so as to cover the crown and contain
also the raised cue of hair. Originally it was of limp material, and the
top would then fall over on either side. This cap, made of oiled paper
or stiff cloth, continued to be used by military men under the helmet,
the edge being bound to the head by a cloth tightly tied round the fore-
head at the bottom. When used, however, with civilian dress it became
a stiff Phrygian-shaped cap, blackened with varnish, having different
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.ootrcn : tbm bstobt or jai*nwb costume. 9*9
varieties in shape denoting special ranks or imperial favours. It wae
often worn set right back, so as to leave the front of the crown pi the
head exposed, and hong over behind in a curious and rattier unsightly
manner, being pinned to the hair cue and kept on the head by a purple
silk cord wound over it and tied under the chin. The rounded top of
the Yeboshi was bent a little forward and also turned down a little to the
right or the left. The respective rights of the left bend and the right bend
were confined to the two large rival families of nobles, the Gen-ji and
the Hei-ke. The Migirmaye yeboahi, or the yeboM bent to the right, wae
worn by nobles of the Hei-ke family ; and the Hidari-maye, or left-bent
yeboshi, by the Gen-ji family.
HIBA-O.
To complete the full ceremonial dress of the Emperor and nobles
a long handsome girdle was worn round the waist and hanging down
at the front, called the Hira~o. This girdle consisted of a separate
broad portion some five inches wide, with a deep handsome fringe.
This part, hanging down like an apron in the front, was suspended from
the girdle proper, which was threaded through it and was bound round
the waist, being also narrower than the front portion. To this belt the
sword was attached. The Hira-o was of handsome embroidered silk,
rendered thick and stiff. Hie ground-work was of purple, green, or
dark blue, and the embroidery in bright colours represented birds,
flowers, or some ornamental device suggestive of longevity or having
some other congratulatory meaning. Among such congratulatory devices
may be mentioned the bamboo, the pine and the crane. The hanging
portion of the Hira-o sometimes consisted of two portions, one hanging
down on the front and one on the left side, this difference being made
according to rank. The Hira-o was only worn by those above and
inclusive of the fifth rank.
I8HI NO OBI.
In certain ceremonies, such as the Seehi-yo and the Mi-yuki, the
princes and nobles wore over the Hd a belt called the IM no obi. This
vol. vm. 46
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850 OONDEB : THE HISTORY OF JAPANESE COSTUME.
was a stiff belt of black leather, consisting of two halves connected by
cords, the half which was towards the back being ornamented by a row
of flat stones, about nine in number, tied on to the surface. Hie stones
for the highest ranks were of green jade, and for the lower ranks they
were simply some kind of soap-stone or marble. These ornamental
stones were of a flat, square shape, some two inches in width, sometimes
carved upon the outer surface, and tied to the belt by silk cords. The
ends of the IM no obi were ornamented with metal clasps. There are
many names given to this belt, according to the style of ornament
or kind of stone used. When worn it was invisible towards the front,
where it was covered by the waist of the Ho, but it was seen at the
back, where the stones shewed.
GIYO-TAI.
On similar ceremonial occasions was worn a peculiar hanging orna-
ment called the Giyo-tai, resembling in form an oblong box which hung
by a leather cord from the first or second stone on the right of the Ishi
no obi. The word Giyo-tai is said to signify "fish bag," its original
use being that of a bag or pouch, and the outer surface being invariably
ornamented with representations of fish. The Giyo-tai was covered
generally with shark skin, and the princes and nobles above the third
rank wore one of a red colour with the fish of gold plates let in. Those
of the ranks of SM-i and Go-i wore one having the metal fish of silver
in place of gold. The cord by which it was hung was generally of
leather, stained of a blue colour.
8HITA-GUTSU OB BET8U.
As a covering to the feet was worn a kind of sock called ShUa-gutou
or Bet$u9 and over this shoes or boots. The Bettu were usually made
of white silk, rendered stiff with lining, having soles of a thicker material.
There was a kind, also sometimes used, which was made of rich-
coloured and embroidered silk and worn on more important occasions.
These Shita-guto reached a little above the ankle, and were split up in
the front for the insertion of the foot and secured by a silk tape or cord
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KUGE.— DRESS FOR SEMI-OFFICIAL OCCASIONS.
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oondee: the history of Japanese costume. 851
fastened to the top. Within doors these were worn alone without
farther covering, but in the gardens and generally for out-door use over
these was worn a kind of shoe called the Asa-gutou, meaning simply
shallow boot. The Asa-gtUsu resembled in shape the present Chinese
shoe, being rounded and slightly turned up at the toe. They were of
a kind of hard papier mache, covered with black varnish or lacquer on
the outside, with leather soles. Instead of the Asa-gutsu the Fuka-gutou
or deep shoes were worn in rainy or snowy weather. These were in
fact black leather or papier mache boots, very loose and large.
OTA
A kind of superior sandal made of rush- work, resembling the common
house-sandal called zori, was also occasionally worn in private life.
This went by the name of Ota.
SHAKU.
The above mentioned articles of attire completed the ordinary
ceremonial dress of the Emperor and nobles, with the addition of the
indispensable sword and sceptre or fan. The word " sceptre " is here
applied to a short staff called the Shaku, which was generally held
vertically in the right hand. The Shaku was made of wood or of
ivory, the use of ivory being confined to the highest ranks and the most
important ceremonial. No noble below the fifth rank could use an ivory
Shaku on any occasion. The wood used was from the yew tree, called
ichi-i or kiyaraboku, being of a very white colour.
OGI.
The closing fan or Ogi was often carried instead of the Shaku. The
land most used was constructed of thin flat wooden ribs, twenty-five in
number, fastened with a metal rivet and threaded through near the top
with silk strings, which had very long ends, sometimes woven together
and fixed upon the outer scale in the pattern of a wistaria flower or
some other device. Sometimes the ends hung loose in a loop. Such a
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SS9 OWTOMt t THB ittStfOKV OF JAPANEflB OOSTUMB.
&d was made of Hi no ki (Chamaecyparis obtusa), and was then called
Hi dgi ; but before the age of fifteen a fan of a commoner wood called sugi
(Cryptomeria japonica) was carried, and this was painted on the out-
side and ornamented with silk thread in five colours. The rivet head
was often made ornamental, representing a butterfly or small bird in
metal wort. This fan was generally carried closed, and held like
the 8haku.
In the summer time, in place of the wooden Ogi, was used a fan
of thin wooden ribs covered with paper, and painted with some device
front and back. The portion of the wooden ribs not covered with paper
was lacquered or painted in some bright colour, and the outer exposed
rib was carved.
KEN OB TACHI.
The Emperor, Princes and Nobles carried as a part of their state
dress a large handsome sword hanging vertically from above the left
hip, being fastened by a strong silk cord to the girdle or Hira-o. This
weapon was about three and a half feet long, slightly curved in shape,
with a long handle and a small hilt guard. The handle, hilt end and
sheath were ornamented with engraved and gilt metal ornaments, and
there were two metal rings on the sheath to which the hanging cord was
attached. The word Ken was originally used to distinguish a straight
double-bladed sword from the curved single-bladed weapon called Tachi,
which was shorter than the Ken. The words came, however, to be
indiscriminately applied to the slightly curved single-bladed sword carried
by the nobles. The ornamentation of the sheath and the hilt ornaments
varied with the rank and the ceremonial. Almost every important
ceremony had its peculiar weapon, distinguished by the kind of lacquer
with which its sheath was covered or the material and inlaying of the
handle. The handle was sometimes of white shark skin, inlaid with
knobs of crystal, jade or soap-stone, with a gold top, from- which hung
cords of purple leather enriched with gold pendants or valuable stones.
In some swords the handle was of engraved silver. The sheath was
invariably lacquered, sometimes with gold lacquer, sometimes with
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EMPEROR.-CEltEMONIAL COSTUME.
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lacquer of a doll purple colour. The lower ranks carried a plainer
weapon, with a sheath of plain black lacquer. Bach a sword was also
used by the higher classes in time of mourning.
SHDEUZAYU.
The sheath of the sword was encased often in an outer sheath or bag
called the Shirizayu, made of the skin of the tiger or leopard, having the
fur outwards. This was mostly carried only for out-door purposes,
its chief use probably being to protect the handsomely ornamented sword-
sheath from the rain.
emperor's coronation robes. (Fig. 1.)
Some form or other of the herebefore described articles of attire were
worn by the Emperor, Princes, Ku-ge, and Dai-miyos as full dress for most
of the state occasions, distinctions of rank being denoted by differences
in colour, pattern and minor details. For some very high festivals, such
for example as the Accessional Ceremony of the Emperor, called
Da4-jd-ye9 the dress of the Mikado and the high rank princes differed in
some important particulars. The robes worn by the Emperor on the
occasion of his formal accession were as follows : The outer robe or
tunic differed from the ordinary Ho in form, gradually widening out
towards the skirts and folding over in front with a loose open collar and
very full sleeves, not of the simple oblong shape, but curved at the
bottom and very large. This robe, which was called the Kon-riyo no tot
6 8ode, was of red damask, embroidered in gold and bright colours, with
representations of the heavenly constellations, dragons, sacred birds,
flame-shaped emblems and mountain peaks. The collar and sleeves
were bordered with a wide band of dark blue. The body of the tunic
was not shewn below the waist in front, being turned up under the
girdle, from below which hung a kind of fall apron piece or skirt called
Mo. This Mo was also red, being gathered into large plaits, each plait
having embroidered upon it four emblematic symbols consisting of two
wreaths, an axe-head and a fret pattern. This was furnished with silk
bands at the top for tying' round the waist. With these garments word
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854 oondee: the hmtoby of Japanese costume.
worn the usual white silk Uye-no-bdkama, Shitagutm and A»aguUu9
Underneath the Kon-riyo no i was worn a similar garment, somewhat
smaller in size, made of wadded silk, probably to give the upper robe a
fuller, richer appearance. This having smaller sleeves than the 0 sode
went by the name of the Ko-sode. On such occasions, instead of the
ordinary Kammuri, the Emperor wore a head-covering bearing some
slight resemblance to a crown, inasmuch as it was mostly of metal,
enriched with gold and precious stones. This was called the Qiyok-kmcan.
It consisted of a cylindrical-shaped crown of thin gilt copper, engraved
and pierced, with a flat oversaving square top, formed of a metal border,
with thin silk crape stretched across. From the edge of this broad
tray-shaped top hung jewelled strings on all sides, forming a continuous
fringe ; and above it was a row of vertical metal wires topped with
precious stones. In the centre of the front portion was a raised point
carrying a metal disc with rays, representing the sun in glory. This
curious crown, if it may be so called, merely rested on the top of the
head, and was kept in position by silk cords tied under the chin. Inside
was the ordinary bag-shaped cap or kammuri to hold the cue of the hair.
This head-covering, which was worn at the ceremony of accession,
formed merely part of the attire, and there was no coronation ceremony
attached to the use of it. The two highest ranks of Imperial princes,
called Ip-pon Shin-no and Ni-Jwn Shin-no, also wore coronets of a some-
what similar kind. An example of one of these may be seen in the
Tokiyo Haku-butsu-kuwan. Bound the waist the Emperor wore a
handsome girdle somewhat similar to the Hira-o, but differing in
having the portion which hung down in front wider and of Chinese
damask, with Chinese paintings upon it. This girdle was called the
GIYOKU-HAI.
In addition to this hung from the belt on both sides long jewelled
strings, with metal plates, reaching to the ankles. These pendants,
which went by the name of Oiyoku haif consisted of five beaded strings
of different coloured stones, united four times in their length by flat
rounded copper gilt plates. The Emperor, who during the ceremony was
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condeb: the history of Japanese costume. 855
seated upon a kind of throne and wore no sword, carried the Qiyoku-
hai double, one hanging on each side. The princes, who stood, carried
none on the sword side, with the wearing of which it would interfere.
The ivory Shaku was held in the right hand.
DRESS OF IP-PON SHIN-NO WORN AT ACCESSIONAL CEREMONY OF
THE EMPEROR.
A Prince of the Blood Royal of the first rank wore, on a like occasion,
robes somewhat similar in character to those of the Emperor. The 0
sode, however, was not hidden below the waist, but hung down over the
Mo, and thus resembled in appearance that of the Ho, with the exception
that the sleeves were fuller, the collar was different, and the flaps (called
" ran ") at the bottom of the skirts did not exist. The colour of the
O sode worn by Ip-pon Shin-no was dark purple. The Mo was of blue,
and only the bottom edge was seen hanging below the 0 sode. The
Oiyoku-hai and the Hira-o were also worn, and also a metal ooronet or
metal-cased cap, somewhat similar to the Giyok-kuwan of the Emperor.
This was in met the ordinary Kammuri of silk crape, having, however,
a treble or quadruple bag for the hair instead of the single one, set
inside a crown-shaped diadem of embossed and pierced metal, the back
portion of which was further extended into a raised fan-shaped cusping
of open metal wires, all gilt and inlaid in several places with jewels.
An example of a diadem of this kind may be seen at the Tokiyo Haku-
butsu-kuwan. This ivory Shaku and ornamental sword called kazari-
dachi was carried. The Ni-hon Shin-no or Prince Royal of the 2nd
rank was robed in a similar manner, the chief difference being in the
colour of the 0 sode, which was green instead of purple.
SHIN-TO RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS.
Among the many Imperial festivals and ceremonies of the court,
each demanding some distinctive difference in costume, were the Shin-to
festivals attended by the Emperor. In time of Shin-to prayer or
festival a dress called the Omi was worn over the Ho. The Onri was
of several kinds, generally being of white cotton, with some pattern
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866 condbb: thb histoby of jafanbsb oosttoou
embroidered in line upon it in bine or green colour. The Omi was
sometimes long, ending in a skirt and flaps, and having a tight collar
and bag behind like the Ho; it was then called Hoyekt-omi. Another
kind was similar to the Shita-gaume, being split up at the sides, and
longer behind than in front ; this was called the Shi-omi. A third shape
went by the name of Sho$hi-omi, on account of it being worn by Shoshi
or lower rank nobles. The Shdshi-omi had sleeves considerably shorter
than those of the Ho, which shewed below them, and was short in the
body, folded over in front and turned up under the belt, having a loose
collar. .Over the right shoulder of each kind of Omi were sewn two
braided bands called Aka-himo. These were 2 or 8 feet long, hanging
down loose behind, one being red and the other black.
KOKOROBA.
When this robe was worn the Kammuri was also ornamented
in a manner peculiar to religious festivals. A metal prong, in imita-
tion of a sprig of plum-blossom, and called the Kokoroba, was fixed
in the crown of the hat; and from the sides hung down over the ears, as
low as the breast, two looped and tasselled green cords called Hikage no
katsura, from their resemblance to a moss of that name, from which the
ornament was originally derived. The Ku-ge wore the Kokoroba and
Hikage no kattwra upon the ordinary Kammuri ; the Emperor, however,
wore a Kamnvwri of white silk on such occasions. The Kammuri was
tied on to the head with white cord. The black Ho and white Kiyo
and Hakama were worn with the Omi.
KARI-GINU.
The thick wide robes hitherto described, which were worn with
certain variations of detail and ornament on ceremonial or semi-official
occasions, were naturally very ponderous. On the occasion of sports
or exercises, in which the princes and nobles sometimes engaged, certain
modifications in costume were found advisable. The chief difference in
dress was in the use of a robe called the Kari-ginu or Hunting-robe, to
replace the Hd, This dress also went by the name of Hoi. The
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gONDBBt TUB HISTORY OF JAPANESE OOSTUMB. 857
material was thinner and the sleeves somewhat shorter than those of the
Hox the general shape resembling the Ketteki Ho. The Hoi was split
up at the sides, and the sleeves were also slit at the shoulder so as to
be almost detached from the body, except a small portion in front below
the armpits. This greatly facilitated the use of the arms in shooting
with the bow or other bodily exercises. The bottom edges of the sleeves
were threaded through with silk cords, so that they could be drawn up
tightly over the wrists and leave the hands free. The bottom of the
body, also, had sometimes silk bands attached for tying to the waist; 
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